


Just Like Old Times

by gxldenskyes



Category: Doctor Who, Sarah Jane Adventures
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-22
Updated: 2020-10-22
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:08:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 43,438
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27147148
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gxldenskyes/pseuds/gxldenskyes
Summary: Not long after the Waters of Mars, the Doctor is travelling alone to forget his impending fate when he bumps into his very best friend.
Relationships: Martha Jones/Mickey Smith, Tenth Doctor/Sarah Jane Smith
Comments: 8
Kudos: 18





	1. School of Slitheen

**Author's Note:**

> i know i already did a fic about sarah jane and ten travelling together but i wanted to do a more in depth one so here u go lol! also i apologise for how bad i am for coming for resolutions to each chapter. anyways, hope u enjoy!

Sarah Jane ran as fast as she could down the school hall. She panted, skidding as she turned the corner. She tried to gain more speed as she reached the staircase and ran down them.

“Miss Smith? I know you’re here.” The voice called from behind her in a menacing tone, “I can smell you!”

Sarah Jane reached the ground floor of the school as she looked around. She tried to figure out which way she should go but the footsteps approaching gave her an idea that maybe she should go right. Sarah Jane ran down the hall as she tried to find the closest door. She took out her sonic lipstick, trying to unlock the doors but they were all deadlock sealed.

“Oh come on!” Sarah Jane said to herself.

Sarah Jane then went up to another door and held her sonic lipstick to it. Thankfully, that door opened and as she went to push it open, the door swung open and there stood... the Doctor?!

“Sarah?!” The Doctor exclaimed.

“Oh, fancy meeting you here!” Sarah Jane sighed as she laughed.

The two hugged as they laughed.

“Miss Smith?” The voice called.

“Doctor!” Another voice shouted.

“We better run, eh?” The Doctor said.

“I think so.” Sarah Jane nodded.

The Doctor grabbed Sarah Jane’s hand as they started to run down the hall. As they reached the stairs, the Slitheen that had been chasing after Sarah Jane was coming down the stairs. The Doctor took out his sonic screwdriver as he let go of Sarah Jane’s hand and started fiddling with it as they still ran.

“What are you doing?” Sarah Jane asked.

“Setting coordinates.” The Doctor replied before he pointed the sonic screwdriver at the teleport device on the Slitheen’s wrist, “Bye!”

They both stopped as the Slitheen on the stairs teleport somewhere else.

“Where did he go?” Sarah Jane asked.

“Raxacoricofallapatorius.” The Doctor replied, “The senate to be exact no.”

Before Sarah Jane could say anything, the other Slitheen that had been chasing the Doctor appeared. Sarah Jane was about to run but the Doctor noticed this Slitheen also had a teleportation device on their wrist. The Doctor held his sonic screwdriver to the Slitheen and the alien teleported too. They both sighed a sigh of relief as the Doctor turned to Sarah Jane. He grinned as he looked at her.

“It’s good to see you, Sarah.” The Doctor grinned.

“You too, Doctor.” Sarah Jane smiled.

The two hugged tightly. The Doctor lifted her off the ground a little as they held one another. As he put her back down, he realised something.

“We need to stop those transducers!” The Doctor said as he broke off the embrace with Sarah Jane.

They both ran down the hall as they ran into the gym hall. They then reached the boiler room where the transducers were and the Doctor started sonicing the machines. Sarah Jane went over to the other transducer and started sonic that one too. When they realised they had stopped the machines, they started to laugh as they jumped up and down. The two hugged as they cheered, so thankful they had stopped the machines.

“Who are you?” A voice suddenly said from behind them. Sarah Jane and the Doctor broke off their hug as they realised the deputy headteacher stood at the door, “What are you doing in here?”

“Mrs. Hall, I think you’re going to have to hire a new headteacher and maths teacher.” The Doctor walked towards her before taking Sarah Jane’s hand, “Come on, Sarah!”

Mrs. Hall watched as the two walked out and was bewildered to say the least. As they walked out, the school bell rang and Sarah Jane and the Doctor got caught up in the schoolchildren leaving the school for the end of the day. They headed outside to the main entrance and as they walked out to the playground, they stood with one another.

“The Slitheen aren’t very original.” Sarah Jane turned, “They could think of something better than turning off the sun again.”

“You’re right. I’m glad I had you here, I don’t think I would have managed to turn that other one off.” The Doctor replied.

“Well, I’m very good that way. Show up when you need me the most. I did learn from the best.” Sarah Jane nudged his arm playfully.

“Yes.” The Doctor nodded, “Yes, you did. How long is it since I last saw you?”

“Um,” Sarah Jane frowned, “About a month or so.”

“I thought so, your hair looks longer.” He flicked her hair slightly.

“Well, it’s hard to get a trim when you’re too busy saving the world.” Sarah Jane shrugged with a slight smirk.

“I know what you mean.” The Doctor raised his brows as he itched the back of his head.

“Where’s the TARDIS?” Sarah Jane asked.

“Not far from here. Just down an alleyway behind those houses.” The Doctor pointed over to the houses nearby.

“Ah right. Luke’s probably home by now, you could always come for dinner?” Sarah Jane asked.

“I um, I probably should head off.” The Doctor sighed, “I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright. Places to go, planets to save. I get it.” Sarah Jane nodded. She took out her car keys from her pocket as she fiddled with them, “I better get going too, eh?”

“I could take you home.”

“No, I’ve got the car. Thank you though.”

The Doctor nodded with a small smile. Sarah Jane smiled up to him before going to hug him. They hugged tightly before breaking it off and looking at one another.

“I’ll walk you to the car.”

“Thanks.”

The two headed to the car park and as they got closer to Sarah Jane’s car, she turned to him.

“Goodbye, Doctor.” Sarah Jane smiled.

“See you later.” The Doctor replied.

Sarah Jane nodded and she walked to her car. She got into her Nissan Figaro and started it up. The Doctor watched as she drove out of the car space, stepping back onto pavement as she drove past. He waved to her when Sarah Jane waved through the glass, watching her drive away.

When Sarah Jane got home, she was still deep in her thoughts about seeing the Doctor. It went so quickly, it felt just like a fleeting moment. She wondered why he wouldn’t come back to Bannerman Road. She walked into the house but when she heard voices from upstairs. Sarah Jane smiled to herself, knowing Luke was home with Clyde and Rani. Sarah Jane headed upstairs and walked into the attic.

“Hi mum!” Luke smiled.

“Hello.” She smiled, kissing her son’s cheek, “How was your day?”

“We learned about physics and Sir Isaac Newton.” Luke replied.

“That was so fun.” Clyde rolled his eyes sarcastically.

“Oh, shush, Clyde.” Rani chuckled, “What about you, Sarah Jane? Did you find out what was happening at that school?”

“Yeah, I did. Turns out it was Slitheen again. And they tried to turn off the sun again.” Sarah Jane replied, “And I saw the Doctor.”

“What?!” Rani exclaimed.

“The Doctor?” Clyde asked with wide eyes, “You saw the Doctor?”

“Mhm.” Sarah Jane nodded, walking down the steps to face Mr. Smith.

“Where is he now?” Luke asked.

“He’s um… He’s gone away now. He had to go.” Sarah Jane looked at Mr. Smith as she pressed a couple of buttons, “Mr. Smith, could you check that the Slitheen have gone?”

“Certainly, Sarah Jane.” Mr. Smith replied.

“Why didn’t he come back here?” Rani asked, “He could have at least gone for a coffee with you?”

“It’s the Doctor, Rani.” Sarah Jane turned, “This is what he does. He has to travel, he has to move on. And so do we.”

“Temporal flux escalating.” Mr. Smith announced.

“Temporal flux escalating.” K-9 repeated. 

They all turned to see the TARDIS slowly materialising in the attic. The door opened and the Doctor poked his head out, a big grin on his face.

“Sorry, Sarah, I just took a shortcut.” The Doctor stepped out before leaning on the TARDIS.

“Doctor.” She smiled, “But I thought you had to go?”

“Well, I thought I could pay you a little visit.” He shrugged. The Doctor then came down the steps, putting his arm around Luke, “Lukey boy! How’s it going? How’s school? It’s been a while since I saw you three.”

“Yeah, everything’s good.” Luke smiled.

“What have you been up to then, Doctor?” Rani asked as she crossed her arms, “Where have you been? When have you been?”

“Oh, here and there. Felspoon, Tudor London, Blackwood High School!” The Doctor replied as he raised his brows, “You know, we could always go on a quick trip. Anywhere you like.”

The three teens looked at one another and lit up. They would have loved to go somewhere in the TARDIS but they knew they couldn’t. Not only would Sarah Jane not let them but also the Judoon would probably find them and they could get arrested. Clyde and Rani also had their parents to think about.

“We can’t.” Luke sighed as he put his hands in his pockets.

“Yeah, we have exams coming up.” Rani replied.

“And if we go to another planet, the Judoon won’t be happy.” Clyde added.

Sarah Jane watched as the kids made up excuses and her heart broke for them. She wished they could get the chance to travel with the Doctor, even just once but they couldn’t risk it. She crossed her arms, thinking about how bad she felt for them.

“You could go though, mum.” Luke said, snapping Sarah Jane out of her daydream.

“What?” Sarah Jane lifted her head. She started to laugh, “No. I, I couldn’t. I can’t just leave you on your own.”

“We’ll look after Luke, Sarah Jane.” Clyde put his arm around Luke, “Me, Rani, Mr. Smith and K-9 are all very good babysitters.”

“But what about the Earth? And my work? I can’t just go.” Sarah Jane frowned.

“Again, very good babysitters.” Rani gestured to herself, Luke and Clyde before she walked over to Sarah Jane, “You should go, Sarah Jane. Even just for a day or so. It could be a nice little getaway. For you both.”

Sarah Jane looked at Rani before looking at the Doctor. He wore a small smile on his face as he watched what was going on.

“But what would I tell people? If I’m gone for a while.” Sarah Jane asked.

“We’ll say you’re on holiday. Or on a work trip.” Luke walked over to Sarah Jane, “You should go, mum. I’ll be alright. You deserve to get away for a bit.”

“Are you sure?” Sarah Jane asked, cupping her son’s face.

“Of course.” Luke smiled, “And don’t worry about me. I’ll get my homework done, I’ll keep the house tidy, I’ll get Mr. Smith and K-9 to scan for aliens.”

Sarah Jane chuckled. She then looked at the Doctor. She rubbed her lips for a moment.

“Would it be alright with you?” Sarah Jane asked.

“Well,” The Doctor put his hands in his pockets, “I wouldn’t object to having my best friend on board.”

Sarah Jane laughed as the Doctor grinned. Sarah Jane looked back to Luke as she hugged him tightly.

“You’ll be okay, won’t you?” Sarah Jane asked.

“Of course.” Luke nodded.

“He’s got us.” Clyde smiled, “He’ll be better than okay.”

Sarah Jane chuckled as she went to hug Clyde and then Rani. She then went to kiss the top of K-9’s head before facing Mr. Smith.

“See you later, Mr. Smith. Make sure these three don’t get up to any trouble.” Sarah Jane smiled.

“Of course, Sarah Jane.” Mr. Smith replied.

Sarah Jane walked over to Luke as she smiled. She hugged him tightly once more before breaking it off, kissing his cheek.

“I’ll see you soon, okay?” Sarah Jane smiled.

“Of course.” Luke nodded.

“I love you.” Sarah Jane hugged him again.

“I love you too, mum.” Luke replied.

They broke off the hug as the Doctor let Sarah Jane go into the TARDIS first. The Doctor was about to follow her when Luke stopped him.

“Doctor?”

“Yeah?” The Doctor turned.

“Look after her.” Luke said, “Please.”

“I will. I promise.” The Doctor nodded, “I’ll see you later.”

“Bye, Doctor.” Luke smiled.

The Doctor waved to them before going into the TARDIS, shutting the door. The Doctor ran up to the console where Sarah Jane was looking around herself.

“Right,” The Doctor pressed a couple of buttons as he walked up to her, “Where do you wanna go?”

Sarah Jane grinned.

“Anywhere.”


	2. Life on Mars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Doctor and Sarah Jane land on Mars in 2095.

“Here we are!” The Doctor exclaimed as he grabbed the monitor, “2095!”

Sarah Jane walked into the console room, pulling her forest green blazer onto her shoulders. She joined him as she looked at the monitor.

“Mars?” She smiled up to him.

“Mars.” The Doctor grinned.

Sarah Jane grinned as she turned to the TARDIS doors and stepped out onto Mars. As she stepped out, she expected it to be a red desert but instead Sarah Jane found herself in the middle of a large market. She frowned as she looked around herself. The Doctor stepped out with her, closing the door.

“Ah, Mars!” The Doctor grinned, “I actually wasn’t here too long ago, well, thirty six years ago.”

“Hold on, this can’t be Mars?” Sarah Jane said.

“Of course it is. You think I would tell you that we were somewhere we actually weren’t?” The Doctor asked.

“Well.” Sarah Jane shrugged.

“Oh shush.” The Doctor nudged her, “In 2095, Mars is inhabited by some of the richest humans. This must be some fancy market place.” He then pointed, “Look, there’s some food going over there. Why don’t we try some local delicacies?”

Sarah Jane smiled as she took his hand and they started to walk through the markets. The Doctor went up to a cash machine, sonicking it for money before they got food and sat down at one of the small tables.

“We’re on Mars and we ordered chips?” Sarah Jane asked.

“Hey! It’s a local delicacy.” The Doctor replied as he ate a chip.

“I guess it is a slice of home.” Sarah Jane chuckled, also taking a chip, “Well, what else happened in 2095?”

“Bit of a boring year. This full-scale human colonisation of Mars, umm, actually, I think that was the most substantial thing that happened.” The Doctor replied.

Sarah Jane chuckled. She looked around herself as she admired the bustling markets.

“It’s nice here. Really nice.” Sarah Jane smiled. She then took in a deep breath as she smelled the air, “Ooh. Strange smell. Like metal.”

“Oh yeah.” The Doctor replied as he took in a deep breath, “What do you say? A little investigation wouldn’t hurt.”

“Oh fine.” Sarah Jane rolled her eyes a little sarcastically but started to laugh.

“Right then!” The Doctor shot up, “Let’s go! Oh, hold on, we’re taking these chips. I’m quite hungry actually.”

“Oh, makes a change.” Sarah Jane chuckled as they started to walk around the market.

They walked together, eating their chips as they looked around. Sarah Jane went up to one of the markets, looking at the jewellery and trinkets. 

“Oh, these are beautiful.” Sarah Jane said as she picked up a bracelet, “What do you think, Doctor?”

“Yeah, yeah.” The Doctor nodded as he ate chips over her shoulder, “Very nice.”

Sarah Jane rolled her eyes before chuckling. She put the bracelet back down before she followed him after him. The large markets were very busy but suddenly, an alarm went off. The markets all shut off and the other humans dispersed very quickly. The Doctor and Sarah Jane looked around, both confused as to what was going on. There seemed to be a sense of urgency and panic about the way they all went about.

“What’s going on?” Sarah Jane asked.

“I don’t know.” The Doctor shook his head.

“Hey, you two! Get back!” A man shouted from the side. He wore a black shirt with long sleeves and a high collar and black trousers, big Doc Marten-like boots on his feet. He was quite attractive with longish brown hair and a chiseled jawline, a bit of stubble on his face. He had to be in his late thirties, early forties.

“What’s going on?” The Doctor asked.

“It doesn’t matter, just shift it!” The man replied.

Sarah Jane and the Doctor jogged over to the side. They crouched down behind a large crate near the man that had called them over.

“What’s going on? Why the alarm?” The Doctor asked quietly.

“Oh, you’re not from around here, are you?” The man said, “This happens every day at this time.”

“What is it though? Why are we all hiding?” The Doctor asked.

“Have you been living under a rock?” The man screwed up his face, “It’s the Martian Gods.”

“Martian Gods?” The Doctor asked.

“Sutekh.” Sarah Jane grabbed his arm.

Before the Doctor could say anything, they heard footsteps coming from the markets. They looked around the corner to see the aliens in front of them but it wasn’t Sutekh.

“Ice Warriors. They’re Ice Warriors.” The Doctor said as he watched the aliens before him.

“Ice Warriors?” Sarah Jane asked, “But how can they survive on Mars?”

“Mars used to be freezing but the climate has changed drastically.” The Doctor explained, “But how are they surviving here? What part of Mars are we in? I mean, we clearly aren’t near the core?”

“No, we’re in the North Pole.” The man replied.

“And the markets are sealed off?” Sarah Jane asked.

“Yes.” The man replied, “How do you two not know this?”

“We’re a long way from home, I’m Sarah Jane.” Sarah Jane held out her hand.

“Jareth.” Jareth shook her hand with a grin and wink, “Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too.” Sarah Jane smiled, feeling herself blush a little.

“Is that your husband?” Jareth pointed to the Doctor.

“Oh, um, no. No, this is, this is the Doctor.” Sarah Jane itched her head, feeling herself get a little flustered.

“Doctor who?” Jareth asked.

“Just the Doctor.” The Doctor replied, “How long do they stay for?”

“Not for long. They pass through, trying to look for humans.” Jareth explained.

“What do they do if they find humans?” Sarah Jane asked.

“Take them away. They don’t come back.” Jareth replied, “They’re going away now. We need to wait until the coast is totally clear.”

Sarah Jane and the Doctor watched as Jareth moved forward slowly, trying his best to make sure the Ice Warriors were gone. He looked around the corner as he slowly stood up. He then sighed as he stepped forward.

“They’re gone. They’re all gone, it’s alright.” Jareth called to the others. He checked on people as they came out from the shadows.

“Why do you think they’re coming through here?” Sarah Jane asked.

“I don’t know but we need to find out. These people are terrified.” The Doctor replied. The Doctor looked up to the sky as he noticed they were in a dome, “We’re in a dome. That’s why it’s so warm. Jareth, how far does this dome go on for?”

“Miles.” Jareth explained, “There’s others in this area too. Like little cities.”

“Right. If you don’t mind me saying, Mars is being inhabited by the rich and you don’t look very rich.” The Doctor put his hands in his pockets.

“We’re the workers. We start our life here too and live in this part of the domes.” Jareth explained.

“Slaves?” The Doctor raised his brows.

“No. Just workers.” Jareth replied, “I really should get back to work.”

“Wait, Jareth.” Sarah Jane grabbed his arm, “We’re going to have a look around, figure out what’s going on here. Why don’t you come with us?”

“I couldn’t. I need to work, I’ll lose my job if I go.” Jareth explained.

“I’ll sort that, where’s your boss?” The Doctor asked.

“Jareth!” A short, slightly rotund, bald man shouted with a deep voice. Jareth sighed as he closed his eyes as he went to turn around.

“I think that’s him.” Sarah Jane whispered to the Doctor.

“I’m Dr. John Smith, this is my assistant, Sarah Jane Smith. We’re apart of the Smith Corporation,” The Doctor walked up to the man as he showed his psychic paper, “We’re just having a quick look around this dome and we need a tour guide. You won’t mind if we take Jareth, do you? Lovely, let’s go, Jareth!”

Jareth looked back to his boss and shrugged as he laughed. He then caught up with the Doctor and Sarah Jane as they walked down the market.

“How did you do that?” Jareth asked.

“Psychic paper. Works a treat.” The Doctor grinned as he walked. He then stopped, “How long has that metallic smell been around?”

“Ever since we got here. That was seven months ago. Used to it now.” Jareth explained.

“And the Ice Warriors have been coming through all that time?” Sarah Jane asked.

“Yeah.” Jareth replied.

“But how are they getting in?” 

“We don’t know. There is talk between them having access underground but we also think that the government let them in just to keep peace.”

“But there isn’t any peace when people are getting kidnapped?”

The Doctor smelled the air, taking in deep breaths. Sarah Jane and Jareth watched the Doctor, wondering what this was going to lead to.

“This way!” The Doctor exclaimed, “We need to go this way.”

“Why are we following a smell?” Jareth stopped.

“Because I think this could be the source to our Ice Warrior problem.” The Doctor replied as he continued walking.

“Come on.” Sarah Jane took Jareth’s hand with a grin.

They continued walking as they turned a corner. They soon found themselves in an alleyway where there was a large door. The Doctor walked up to it, taking out his sonic screwdriver.

“Jareth, what’s this door for?” The Doctor asked.

“Um, I’m not sure. I think it’s just a storage door.” Jareth shrugged, “What’s that thing in your hand?”

“A sonic screwdriver.” The Doctor shook it in his hand. He then went to sonic the door but gave up, “Deadlocked. What a surprise!”

“Here.” Sarah Jane walked up as she took out her sonic lipstick, “I think you need some assistance.”

“Oh, I need to bring you with me more often.” The Doctor grinned with a wink.

Jareth watched as the two sonicked the door and when it opened, his jaw dropped. The door opened to a dark stairway. The three looked into the stairway, wondering where it led to.

“Good thing I brought a torch, eh?” The Doctor said as he pulled out a torch, “Shall we?”

Sarah Jane nodded as she took out her own torch. The Doctor led on and Sarah Jane was about to follow when she turned to Jareth. Jareth looked confused as he looked down the steps, his stomach turning to knots.

“You coming?” Sarah Jane asked.

“You do this all the time?” Jareth asked as he looked up to her.

“Yeah. Yeah, we do.” Sarah Jane nodded, “Look, if you don’t want to come, it’s alright.”

“No.” Jareth bucked up as he took in a deep breath, “I’ll come.” Jareth nodded. He was about to walk ahead when he stopped. He then turned to her, “Will you stay with me?”

Sarah Jane giggled as she nodded. The two then followed the Doctor into the dark staircase. When they got to the bottom, the Doctor shone his torch on the walls.

“No storage here.” The Doctor said quietly.

“Maybe it’s further up.” Jareth replied.

“Doctor,” Sarah Jane called as she moved her hand against the wall, “Found the lightswitch.”

Sarah Jane turned on the lights and when the lights came on, they were met with three Ice Warriors. The room they were in was a large control room with a lot of technology. Sarah Jane stepped back as Jareth gasped, clutching onto her arm. The Doctor turned off his torch and put it in his pockets.

“Doctor.” The Ice Warrior in the middle said in their husky, sinister voice.

“Hello.” The Doctor grinned, “I’m surprised you recognise me. How did you manage that?”

“We saw your time machine during our march.”

“Ah I thought so. Anyways, what are you doing walking through colonised domes full of warm air when you’ve got all that lovely, cold air outside?”

“The humans came without our permission.” The Ice Warrior said, “Stole our land.”

“But that gives you no right to snatch them away from their families.” The Doctor started to get angry.

“They are rich and spoilt. They need to be eliminated.”

“Not all of them are rich and spoilt. These are good, innocent people. There are so many solutions to this and kidnapping people is not one of them.”

“They should have never come here.”

“Listen, I could help you.” The Doctor tried, “Please, just let these people go.”

There was a moment of thought from the Ice Warriors. Sarah Jane could feel her heart racing and was almost stuck to the spot as she concentrated on the Ice Warriors, Jareth’s grip on her arm bringing her back to reality.

“I think not, Doctor.” The Ice Warrior hissed, raising his arm to aim at them , “Like you, they all must die.”

“Run!” The Doctor shouted.

The three ran as they headed for the staircase. Sarah Jane and Jareth clung onto each other as they ran up the steps but Sarah Jane stopped as she waited for the Doctor. The Doctor was close behind but was suddenly struck him on the head by the Ice Warrior in the middle. He was instantly knocked out and fell to the ground.

“Doctor!” Sarah Jane exclaimed as she rushed down the steps.

“Sarah Jane, we need to go!” Jareth grabbed her hand.

“I can’t leave him.”

“They’re going to kill us!”

Jareth grabbed Sarah Jane, his arm around her waist as they ran up the steps. When they reached the outside, the door shut behind them.

“No. No.” Sarah Jane turned to the door. She took out her sonic lipstick, trying to open it, “Please work. Come on.” She knew it wasn’t going to open and looked up to the door as she sighed, “No!”

“Hey, it’s alright.” Jareth tried to comfort her.

“It’s not! We just left him in there. We don’t know what they’re going to do to him.” Sarah Jane shouted, “We’re stuck now.”

“We’ll get him back.” Jareth walked over to her, resting his hands on her shoulders, “He’ll be alright.”

“We need to figure what they’re doing here.” Sarah Jane nodded, “There’s more to this than them just snatching people away.”

“Why don’t we go back to the market? We could figure out what’s going on there. You also look like you need a minute to just sit.” Jareth said.

Sarah Jane just nodded as they walked to the markets. They walked through the crowds as they found a free table. Sarah Jane pushed her fringe back as she sat down, thinking about what had happened. She was so worried about the Doctor and just wanted him here to fix whatever was going on. Sarah Jane leaned on the table, sighing softly.

“Are you alright?” Jareth asked.

“Yeah.” Sarah Jane nodded. She then sighed again as she looked up to the sky where the dome encased them. She could see a large tube that was connected to the top of the dome that let the air in, “Where does that tube connect to?”

“There‘s a large supply of oxygen and heat outside the domes. It’s all connected to an underground system.” Jareth explained.

“Underground?” Sarah Jane asked as she looked back at him, “The Ice Warriors were underground.”

“What’s that got to do with it?” Jareth frowned.

“They are planning to get rid of all the humans here, right? And what better way to do that than take away their oxygen supply.” Sarah Jane nodded. She then looked to Jareth, “How far until the edge of the dome?”

“Not far down that way, we’re quite close to the end.” Jareth explained.

“Right.” Sarah Jane as she got up from the table, “Let’s go.”

Sarah Jane started to run in the direction of the edge of the dome, Jareth keeping up behind her.

“Sarah Jane, wait!” Jareth called for her. When he caught up with her, Sarah Jane took his hand.

They continued running until the Mars horizon became clearer. Sarah Jane reached the edge of the dome as she looked out onto Mars’ North Pole. The wind battered against the thick glass as the sun shone down, the other domes were clear in front of Sarah Jane. She pressed her hands onto the glass, taking in the views. Jareth stood next to her, taking in the view as well.

“I don’t come here often to see it like this.” Jareth said softly, “It’s beautiful.”

“It is.” Sarah Jane nodded, “I came here once. Many years ago. It wasn’t this exact spot though.”

“Was it with the Doctor?” Jareth asked.

“Yeah. Yeah, it was. He looked a whole lot different then.” Sarah Jane smiled to herself.

“Who is he?” Jareth asked as he looked at her, “Who is the Doctor?”

“He is a Time Lord. The last one. And he is an impossible man. Totally impossible.” Sarah Jane replied as she continued to look out onto Mars. She could feel her eyes bubbling up as she thought about the Doctor and how worried she was about him but she tried a smile as she looked at Jareth, “Show me where the oxygen tank is.”

“Over there.” Jareth pointed over to a large black box with the oxygen tanks where the tube that was connected to the dome came from. All the domes had similar oxygen tanks and they were built into the ground.

“And they’re all connected.” Sarah Jane said to herself, “Come on.”

\- - -

The Doctor opened his eyes slowly as he sat up. He still lay on the ground as he rubbed his head. He looked back at his hand, noticing the blood from his head. He looked around himself as he noticed the Ice Warriors at the control systems. He could see that there were cameras on the control systems and that it was clear the cameras showed the inside of the other domes.

“You are awake.” The Ice Warrior announced, “Just in time.”

“What are you doing?” The Doctor asked as he stood up.

“We’re hatching our master plan and we couldn’t be more happy than to have you witness it.”

The Doctor frowned as the Ice Warrior turned back to the controls. The Doctor walked up behind him as he looked at the cameras.

“We shall begin.”

\- - -

Sarah Jane and Jareth were walking back to the markets when they heard screams. They looked at each other before starting to run. As they reached the markets, they noticed there were more Ice Warriors marching through. The people were all running as they went to hide. Jareth took Sarah Jane by the waist as they hid behind one of the markets.

“We need to find the Doctor.” Sarah Jane said quietly.

“We’re not going to be able to get into that warehouse, Sarah Jane. Not with all of them.” Jareth said, “They’ll kill us.”

“The Doctor is worth getting killed for. At least for me anyway. You should go find your family, stay with them.” Sarah Jane replied as she was about to stand up but Jareth took her hand and pulled her back down, “What are you doing?!”

“I’m not letting you get killed.” Jareth replied.

“Why not? I need to go!” Sarah Jane frowned, “I need to do something!”

“And we will do something but we have to wait.” Jareth explained, “I have no one left. No family. I know we only just met but I’m not letting you get killed.”

Sarah Jane studied Jareth’s face but before she could say anything, the Ice Warriors started to disappear. When the coast was clear, Sarah Jane got up. She watched as the other humans came out of hiding. They checked on one another before slowly, going back to normal life. Jareth got up as he watched the people too before turning to Sarah Jane.

“You alright?” Jareth asked softly.

“Yeah.” Sarah Jane nodded, “Yeah, I’m okay.”

“Do you think we should go back to that control room?” Jareth asked.

“It’s better safe than sorry. We need to get back to him. He’s all we’ve got.” Sarah Jane replied.

Jareth nodded. The two headed back to the control room. As they walked, Jareth stopped. Sarah Jane turned to him as she frowned.

“What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know, I just, I just got a shiver. Like the weather just changed. Did you feel it?”

“Slightly. Don’t they change the weather from time to time?”

“No, it’s the perfect temperature.”

“Well, maybe they’re introducing some new temperatures for you all.”

They continued walking but Sarah Jane started to feel the cold too. She rubbed her arms as she tried to keep herself warm but it didn’t work. Jareth shivered too, crossing his arms as they reached the door of the control room.

“You’re feeling it now, aren’t you?” Jareth asked.

“Yeah.” Sarah Jane nodded, “This can’t be right.”

“Maybe they want it to be cold for them.” Jareth suggested.

“Probably.” Sarah Jane tried to take out her sonic lipstick but she struggled, “Oh, my hands are so cold.”

“Let me.” Jareth said as he walked forward, “Which pocket?”

“This one.” Sarah Jane tapped her right hand blazer pocket. Sarah Jane started to feel slightly lightheaded and breathless but tried to ignore it.

Jareth went into her pocket as he took out the sonic lipstick. As he went to hand Sarah Jane the sonic device, he noticed she had grown more pale.

“Are you okay?” Jareth asked.

“Yeah, I just,” Sarah Jane started blinking slowly, “I just, I feel lightheaded. It’s… it’s nothing.”

“You look very pale.” Jareth said. He pressed the back of his hand on her forehead as he tried to feel her temperature, “You’re burning up. Maybe you should sit down.”

“No, it’s fine.” Sarah Jane tried, “I’m fine, I’m…” Sarah Jane’s eyes closed as she was about to collapse but Jareth caught her just in time.

“You need to sit down.” Jareth said. He now felt himself growing quite breathless too. He sat Sarah Jane up against the wall on the ground before joining her. The air was now freezing and Jareth shivered as he struggled to breath. Instead of focusing on himself, he tried to make sure Sarah Jane was okay, “Sarah Jane? Can you hear me? Try and stay awake.”

Sarah Jane’s eyes were closed as she panted. Jareth worked up some strength as he looked around the corner to the market. He noticed others in the distance starting to take ill and the others becoming very cold. It didn’t make any sense.

\- - -

“First you kidnap humans and now you’re freezing them?” The Doctor asked.

“In every dome. All at once.” The Ice Warrior hissed.

“They will all die! If not from freezing to death, they’ll suffocate. You don’t need to do this!” The Doctor shouted.

“We are taking back our native land, Doctor!”

“You are committing genocide! You could live somewhere else. Mars is a massive place. Please, don’t do this!”

“Words won’t work, Doctor. We don’t win battles with words.”

“Maybe not but maybe this will work.” The Doctor said as he took out his sonic screwdriver and pointed it to the controls.

They blew up and flames appeared from the technology. Sparks flew as the Ice Warriors retreated from the flames. The Doctor rushed over to the tanks where the main supply for oxygen was produced. He started turning the three-spoke handle to bring back the oxygen to the domes. The Ice Warriors started to disappear down the long, underground corridors but the Doctor let them, he was too focused on trying to get the oxygen back. Thankfully, he did.

\- - -

Jareth sat back against the wall as he struggled to breathe. He shivered, turning to look at Sarah Jane as she sat next to him, her eyes closed.

“Sarah Jane?” Jareth panted, cupping her cold face, “Sarah Jane? Don’t… don’t go to sleep.”

Jareth could feel himself losing consciousness when suddenly as he tried to take another breathe, he felt air fill his lungs. He sat away from the wall, trying to get more air in his lungs. He felt the heat hitting his face and he smiled to himself, thankful to be alive. Jareth then turned to Sarah Jane as she started to regain consciousness too. Her eyes fluttered as her breathing returned to normal.

“Sarah Jane?” Jareth said, “Sarah Jane?”

Sarah Jane slowly opened her eyes as she looked to Jareth. He grinned when she opened her eyes and Sarah Jane smiled back.

“What happened?” Sarah Jane asked softly.

“Oh, you’re okay!” Jareth exclaimed as he jumped up onto his feet. He then grabbed Sarah Jane’s hands and pulled her up, “You alright to stand?”

“Yeah.” Sarah Jane nodded, “Yeah, I’m good.”

“Oh, I thought I lost you.” He hugged her tightly, lifting her off the ground as he spun her. Sarah Jane laughed as he put her down.

“Well, I’m glad I had you here. God knows what could have happened to me if I was on my own.” Sarah Jane smiled up to him, “Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Jareth replied as he let go of her, holding her hands still, “The Doctor, he must have fixed it.”

“He must have.” Sarah Jane nodded, “I told you he would do it.”

“You did.” Jareth laughed. His face then dropped as he looked around the corner, “We better check on the others. There’s kids down there.”

“You go, I’ll catch up with you. I need to find the Doctor.” Sarah Jane said.

“Oh, okay.” Jareth’s face softened, “You’ll be alright?”

“Of course.” Sarah Jane winked, “You should go.”

“Yeah.” Jareth nodded as he let go off her hands before heading down to the markets where the people stood.

Sarah Jane followed him a little before stopping to watch him go into the crowd. She tried to see what was going on but it wasn’t exactly clear. She sighed to herself as she thought about the Doctor. She hoped he was alright and she felt horrible for leaving him for so long but she knew there wasn’t much she could have done.

“Ooh, he likes you, doesn’t he?” A voice said from beside her.

Sarah Jane turned to see the Doctor standing beside her. He grinned down to her as she gasped.

“Oh, Doctor!” Sarah Jane hugged him tightly as he too lifted her off the ground, “You’re alright. You’re alright.” The Doctor put her back down on the ground as she looked up to him, noticing the cut on his head, “You’re bleeding. We need to get you sorted. Oh, I’m really sorry for leaving you behind. I did try to get back but-.”

“Shh.” The Doctor rested his finger over her lip before cupping her cheek, “It’s alright. I understand, trust me. I’m just glad you’re safe. Are you okay? You look pale.”

“Just a little breathless.” Sarah Jane shrugged with a chuckle before she softened, “What happened?”

“They wanted the land back so they took away the oxygen and heat. It seemed that they wanted to freeze all the domes, probably as some sort of trophy.” The Doctor said, “I managed to stop them and get all the oxygen back.”

“Where are all the Ice Warriors now?” Sarah Jane asked.

“Gone. They all disappeared in the underground system.” The Doctor replied. He then held out his hand, “Come on, we better check everyone’s alright and tell them they don’t need to worry anymore.”

Sarah Jane grinned, taking his hand. The Doctor grinned back to her as they walked back to the markets. Sarah Jane and the Doctor broke off as they helped others in the crowd. When Jareth noticed the Doctor, he smiled. He walked over to him and gave him a hug.

“Good to see you, Doctor!” Jareth said.

“And you!” The Doctor replied. He then looked back to Sarah Jane for a moment, “Thanks for staying with her. I would have hated for her to have been on her own when they turned off the oxygen.”

“She did the same for me.” Jareth shrugged, “Sarah Jane’s very special. I hope you know that.”

“I do.” The Doctor nodded as he put his hands in his pockets, “She’s absolutely brilliant!”

“Here we are.” Sarah Jane announced herself as she approached the two men. She held a first aid kit with some disinfectant, “Let’s get you cleaned up.”

“I’m alright, Sarah. Just a little bump on the head.” The Doctor shrugged her off.

“Doctor, you’re bleeding. I’m not having you bleeding now sit down.” Sarah Jane pointed toward the table behind him.

The Doctor rolled his eyes jokingly with a chuckle before sitting down at the table. Sarah Jane started cleaning the small cut on his forehead whilst Jareth checked the others around him. Just as Sarah Jane was about to finish up with the Doctor’s wound, there were suddenly screams heard from around them. The Doctor stood as he and Sarah Jane watched as everyone scarpered and screamed, hiding in their normal places. As the crowd cleared, they saw one Ice Warrior approaching. It was the General that had conducted what had gone and as he got closer, they could see he was covered in burns and limped as he approached. The Doctor knew he was here for him and he wasn’t willing to have anyone dragged into this, especially Sarah Jane.

“You need to get away.” The Doctor turned to her as he rested his hands on her shoulders.

“What?” Sarah Jane looked up to him, “No way, I’m not leaving you on your own.”

“You have to. I need to face him on my own.” The Doctor replied, “Sarah, please. Please just go.”

“I’m not leaving you! Not again.” Sarah Jane pushed his hands off her shoulders.

“We need to get out of the way.” Jareth rushed over to the two, holding to Sarah Jane’s arm.

“I’ll sort this out.” The Doctor gave Jareth a look that told him to get Sarah Jane out of the way. Jareth nodded.

“Come on, Sarah Jane.” Jareth said as he tried to guide her away from the Doctor.

“I’m not leaving you!” Sarah Jane stayed stuck to the spot as she looked up to the Doctor.

“Sarah, please!” The Doctor tried, “I’m sorry. I am but I just need you to get away from here.”

Sarah Jane didn’t know what to say. She just wanted to grab him and run back to the TARDIS but it wouldn’t be right. Instead, she just let Jareth bring her over to one of the stalls. They stayed close to one another as they watched the Doctor turn to the approaching Ice Warrior General.

“Why didn’t you go with the others?” The Doctor asked.

“Because I wanted to find you.” The General said, “You ruined our plans, Time Lord.”

“You were killing people. I wasn’t going to let that happen.” The Doctor replied, “Your planet or not, no one deserves to die. They are all innocent.”

“Maybe they are innocent but you are not, Doctor.” The General hissed. He slowly lifted his arm to aim his laser at him, “That must mean you deserve to die.”

Jareth could tell the General was going to kill the Doctor. He wasn’t going to let that happen. He turned to Sarah Jane as he cupped her face.

“It’s not the time but I just wanted to say… I really fancy you.” Jareth laughed. Sarah Jane frowned, noticing how Jareth’s eyes started to bubble up but before she could say anything, her lips were pressed against Jareth’s. When he broke off the kiss, he sniffled, “I’m so sorry.”

Sarah Jane watched as Jareth stepped out and when the General shot at the Doctor, Jareth got in front of him and took the shot.

“No!” Sarah Jane shouted. Instantly, she ran out to Jareth who now lay on the ground. She brought him into her lap as she felt herself well up, “Jareth? Jareth? It’s alright, you’re okay.”

Sarah Jane noticed the wound in Jareth’s abdomen and felt her heart drop. Before the Doctor could do anything to stop the Ice Warrior from doing any more damage, the other humans came out from the shadows and seemed to close in on the General. The Doctor knew it was hopeless to stop a crowd as powerful as them and joined Sarah Jane on the ground.

“Oh, why did you do that, Jareth?” The Doctor asked.

“I… I couldn’t let you die.” Jareth replied, “You’re too important.”

“And you’re not?” The Doctor asked, “I thought I had enough to worry about with Sarah Jane here.”

Jareth laughed but started to cough, clearly in pain.

“Take it easy.” Sarah Jane said as she stroked his hair, “You’re gonna be okay.”

“I’ll be alright if you stay.” Jareth grinned tiredly at her.

“I’m here.” Sarah Jane tried a smile, “I’m not going anywhere. Not until you’re okay.” She then looked to the Doctor, “We need to do something. He’ll die if we don’t.”

The Doctor looked around as the crowd moved down the long road. There were still people around so he knew what to do. The Doctor got up and rushed over to some people, asking if anyone was a doctor.

“The Doctor’s gone to get you some help.” Sarah Jane said softly.

“I’ve got all the help I need right here.” Jareth smiled, “What do you say? You and me go on a date at some point?”

“I hate to disappoint but I’m too old for you.” Sarah Jane replied with a chuckle through her tears, “Older than you think.”

“Oh, come on. The Doctor’s got to be the same age as me.” Jareth rolled his eyes.

“Well, it’s different… he’s not as young as he looks. We’re not together anyways.” Sarah Jane stuttered a little. She couldn’t help but feel her cheeks warm up as she tried to wriggle out of this one.

“Liar.” Jareth smirked.

“This is Dr. Andrews.” The Doctor came over with an older man, “He can help us.”

“Right, a laser wound.” Dr. Andrews knelt down next to Jareth, “I know just the thing. Could you lift up your top please?”

Sarah Jane helped Jareth lift his shirt up over his wound. Dr. Andrews took out this purple gel and gently rubbed into the wound. Jareth cried out in pain, grabbing onto Sarah Jane’s hand tightly. Once Dr. Andrews was done, they all watched as the very bad wound healed up. There wasn’t even a scar there.

“Oh my God.” Sarah Jane gasped, “It’s gone. It’s totally gone!”

“New fangled medicine, my dear.” Dr. Andrews shook the small tube of gel, “Only use it for special occasions.”

“Thank you so much.” Jareth sat up, shaking Dr. Andrews hand before he left to help others.

Sarah Jane and the Doctor helped Jareth up from the ground as they watched what was going around them.

“I never asked,” Jareth began, “But what happened to those they stole from us?”

“Oh, they’ll be coming out any minute now.” The Doctor put his hands in his pockets, “Here they come.”

Jareth turned to see the people the Ice Warriors took re-emerge. He laughed as he watched them greet their families. Jareth turned back to the Doctor with a big grin.

“You’re amazing!” Jareth smiled.

“I did what had to be done.” The Doctor replied before playfully punching his shoulder, “You’re not so bad yourself, Jareth! They’ll see you as a hero.”

Jareth just chuckled before looking back at the people around him. He then looked back to Sarah Jane and the Doctor.

“What are you going to do now?” He asked.

“Dunno, probably go off to the next place, right, Sarah?” The Doctor nudged Sarah Jane gently.

“Yes.” Sarah Jane nodded, “You could come with us if you like.”

Jareth smiled at the idea of travelling the universe but his face then softened. He shook his head.

“I can’t.” Jareth said, “I have to stay here. This is my place. I belong here.”

Sarah Jane and the Doctor both understood. The Doctor shook Jareth’s hand and bid him a farewell before heading to the TARDIS. Sarah Jane and Jareth stood with one another, the silence falling on them like a blanket.

“Thank you.” Sarah Jane looked up to him, “I don’t know what I would have done if I didn’t have you with me today.”

“I could say the same for you.” Jareth shrugged.

The two laughed before looking at one another. Sarah Jane then rested her hand on the base of his neck as she brought his lips down to hers and kissed him. They kissed for a couple of seconds before breaking it off.

“Goodbye, Jareth.” Sarah Jane said softly.

“Goodbye, Sarah Jane.” Jareth smiled.

Sarah Jane smiled back up to him before heading to the TARDIS. She gave him one last look before going into the TARDIS, a little wave to him. Jareth waved as he winked at her. He then watched as Sarah Jane stepped into the TARDIS and a couple of seconds later, that strange wheezing sound filled up the air as the TARDIS soon disappeared.

“Well,” Jareth said to himself, “What a day.”


	3. Oh, You’re My Best Friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sarah Jane and the Doctor decide to go to a concert in 1975 and bump into, let’s just say, some old friends along the way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay i’m so sorry that this chapter is quite lazy, i did struggle with this one lol.

The Doctor held his sonic screwdriver to Sarah Jane’s phone so she could call anyone from anywhere. Sarah Jane walked into the console room as she held lipstick in her hands.

“Have you got a mirror?” Sarah Jane asked, “Just a little one.”

“In my coat pocket over there.” The Doctor gestured to his trench coat hung over one of the pillars. He then looked up to Sarah Jane. She wore a long sleeved red shirt with a zigzag pattern and a v-neck. The shirt was tucked into her flared blue jeans with platform heels on her feet. Her hair was in it’s natural waves as it draped over her shoulders. The Doctor smiled when he saw her. It was just like old times, “You look lovely.”

“Hm?” Sarah Jane turned to look at him, the small mirror in her hand.

“I’m just saying you look lovely.” The Doctor repeated, “Very seventies.”

Sarah Jane chuckled. She then went to put lipstick on but she realised that she had her sonic lipstick in her hand instead.

“Oh.” Sarah Jane softly. She went into her pocket to get her normal lipstick, “I’ve really got to stop doing that.”

“Here we are!” The Doctor exclaimed as he brought over Sarah Jane’s phone to her, “A call from anywhere in the universe. Always four bars.”

“Thanks. I better call Luke, check he’s alright.” Sarah Jane said as she started to dial Luke’s number.

The Doctor nodded as he walked back to the console, piloting the TARDIS before checking the monitor. He listened to Sarah Jane’s conversation as he went around the console. He smiled to himself, listening to Sarah Jane talk to her son and tell him about their last adventure. It would have been nice to have brought the kids with them but it would have been very difficult, especially with the Judoon. When Sarah Jane was finished with her call, she walked over to the console as she joined the Doctor, looking over his shoulder at the monitor.

“Are we there yet?” Sarah Jane asked.

“Not yet. We’ll be there soon, don’t worry.” The Doctor replied.

“I’m not worried, I just don’t want to be late, I know how you are prone to being quite late.” Sarah Jane teased as she looked up to him.

“Would you like to fly her?” The Doctor turned, now starting to bicker with her, “I’m sure you would get us there quicker.”

“I probably could. I remember you said I was quite good at flying the TARDIS when you let me have a go.” Sarah Jane smirked, “Now, you can’t deny that.”

The Doctor shook his head as he chuckled, They then felt the TARDIS land as they looked at one another. They checked the monitor, the Third of September, 1975 at the Hammersmith Odeon in London.

“Here we are then!” The Doctor grinned as he headed towards the pillar where his coat had been flung over, “I can’t be that bad at flying the TARDIS, eh?”

“Come on.” Sarah Jane chuckled, grabbing his arm as they left the TARDIS.

The two stepped out onto the street across the road from the Hammersmith Odeon. As the Doctor locked the door behind them, Sarah Jane was looking at the big queue of people waiting to get in. She then noticed the posters and her heart dropped.

“Um, Doctor?” She shook his arm.

“Yeah?” The Doctor turned.

“Look,” Sarah Jane pointed, “I think you got the band wrong. It was ABBA we were meant to be going to see, not Queen.”

“Oh no!” The Doctor huffed was he looked at the board above the doors. It said that the band, Queen, were playing instead of ABBA, “Oh, I was looking forward to going to see ABBA.”

“It’s alright.” Sarah Jane rubbed his arm, “We can always get back in the TARDIS and go to an ABBA concert.”

“You know,” The Doctor looked at her, “I wouldn’t mind going to see Queen. What do you think?”

“I mean, I wouldn’t object but how would we get in? We don’t have tickets.” Sarah Jane asked.

The Doctor just took out his psychic paper and shook it. Sarah Jane started to laugh. She always seemed to forget about his psychic paper. She took his hand as they walked across the road and went around the back of the venue. The two thankfully managed to get in with the psychic paper, chuckling to each other as they walked into the venue. They then went to get drinks at the small bar and headed into the hall. They talked as they waited for the concert to start, laughing with each other as they recounted their adventures and told stories. As they talked, the Doctor felt someone bump into his back. He turned around to see a very familiar short brunette younger woman in front of him who was slightly out of breath.

“Oh, sorry.” She said.

It was Sarah Jane. But when she was younger in 1975. The Doctor was quite shocked to see her but he shouldn’t have been so surprised.

“It’s um, it’s alright.” The Doctor just nodded.

The Doctor watched as the younger Sarah Jane ran off through the growing crowd. The older Sarah Jane noticed him watching the girl that had run past. She had not got a good glimpse at her face and as she looked up to the Doctor, she noticed a very starstruck look on his face. Sarah Jane couldn’t help but feel like a dagger had just been stabbed into her chest. She crossed her arms, going to take a sip of her drink as she tried to hide her jealousy.

“Who was that?” Sarah Jane asked as she sipped her drink.

“It was… it was you.” The Doctor didn’t turn to her, a smile appearing on his lips.

“What?” Sarah Jane asked, “What do you mean ‘it was you’?”

“I mean it was you! The younger you. The you in this time period.” The Doctor replied.

“Really?” Sarah Jane looked behind her. She then turned back to him, “But I don’t remember bumping into you. You know my memory, I would have realised that was you when we met again.”

“You didn’t really look at me much. You were halfway out of the room by the time I acknowledged you.”

“But if that means my younger self is here at this time then that has to mean you’re here too.”

“Well, he’s here.”

“Oh, Doctor, don’t start to disassociate with your other selves please.” Sarah Jane shook her head. She then started to giggle, nudging him gently, “Teeth and curls.”

“Don’t.” The Doctor rolled his eyes as Sarah Jane started to laugh more, “Honestly, I think you like to torment me.”

“I’m only teasing.” Sarah Jane bumped his shoulder, “I wonder where he was. We must have split up.”

“Probably. I wonder what’s going on. What do you say we investigate?”

“The concert’s about to start.”

“Mr. Mercury can wait.” The Doctor took her hand, “Come on.”

Sarah Jane huffed, letting him pull her along.

“I knew I shouldn’t have worn heels.””

The Doctor and Sarah Jane walked through the crowd in the direction the younger Sarah Jane had come from. When they reached the otherside, they noticed an open door near the backstage door. It looked dark down the hall behind the door and the Doctor knew this was their lead.

“This way.” The Doctor pointed as he let go of Sarah Jane’s hand.

They headed towards the door but before they could continue, Sarah Jane felt someone cover her mouth with their hand that held a handkerchief as she was dragged away. Sarah Jane tried to kick and scream to free herself but it didn’t work. She started to feel herself losing consciousness and soon, her eyes closed and she was out cold.

“I don’t remember this very well, Sarah. I wonder what we’ll find.” The Doctor turned to talk to her but she was gone. He looked around as he frowned. He then looked down and noticed her drink had been dropped and spilled on the floor. His hearts started to beat fast, worried about where she had gone, “Sarah?” He called through the crowd, searching for her face through the people, “Sarah! Sarah Jane!”

The Doctor looked around before running into the crowd again as he looked for Sarah Jane. He asked around, asking if they had seen Sarah Jane but they said no. The Doctor felt helpless, terrified something had happened to Sarah Jane.

\- - -

Sarah Jane woke up slowly as she looked around herself. She was in a green, dim control room. Her head hurt, she felt disorientated. Her eyes were fuzzy but as she focused, she noticed four people standing in front of her. They were all dressed in the seventies fashion and Sarah Jane was sure that she had seen them in the crowd at the venue. She knew she definitely recognised them.

“What’s going on?” Sarah Jane asked tiredly. She went to get up but she found her hands and feet were tied to the surgical bed she lay on, “Let me go, please. I’ll do whatever you want, just let me go.”

“Now, why would we do that?” A blonde man stepped forward, “We just let you go and you ruin our plans like that? No, I don’t think so.”

“Look, you’ve clearly got the wrong person.”

“Not at all, Miss Smith.” A ginger woman moved towards Sarah Jane, her face very close to Sarah Jane’s as she spoke to her, “You forget that we know your DNA very well. Yours and that Time Lord.”

“Right, I don’t really know what’s going on or really remember because it’s quite complicated and I’m not her.” Sarah Jane tried to explain, “I mean I am her but not at this period in time. I was only passing by.”

“Whether you are the present version or not, you are still a very important asset to us.” The blonde man grinned.

“What are you?” Sarah Jane asked.

“I think you know.” The blonde man replied. He then started to laugh before his body started to change. Slowly, he became a Zygon before her eyes.

Sarah Jane’s heart was now racing. She remembered Aberdeen and when the Zygons were there but now that she thought about it, she remembered this night too. She remembered being at this concert and she knew that there was somewhere important that she had recognised these four people from. She just couldn’t remember how they stopped them.

“What do you want?” Sarah Jane asked.

The Zygon before her started to chuckle.

“To take over Earth.”

\- - -

The Doctor ran through the crowd until he was at the doors. He ran outside as he looked around himself. The Doctor tried to find clues for where Sarah Jane could be when he noticed his younger self running past the venue, his long scarf blowing in the wind. The Doctor knew this was his best bet for finding Sarah Jane. As he followed after the younger Doctor, he tried his best to stay hidden so he didn’t see him. He then watched as the younger Doctor went into a large warehouse that was behind the Hammersmith Odeon.

The two Doctors went in. The older Doctor followed the younger Doctor up the stairs. He tried to stay in the shadows but the younger Doctor disappeared in the building. The older Doctor decided to go to the top. He was now on the roof but it was dark due to the large spaceship above the warehouse. The door was open and there was a green light from nearby as he heard voices. The Doctor stayed in the shadows, looking around for the ship. The Doctor listened to the voices coming from the large control room but wasn’t sure what was in the room.

“We want to take over the Earth. Every human made into a Zygon.” The Doctor heard the male voice say. His stomach dropped. Zygons meant bad news, “And what better way to start than with the youth.”

“But you can’t. This is our planet, you can’t just take over.” Sarah Jane tried. The Doctor knew this was his Sarah Jane but he just needed to figure out how to get her out, “How can you take over the world when there’s four of you?”

“We have fleets on the way but you underestimate us, Miss Smith. We could turn humans into Zygons with just a touch.” A female voice explained. When the Doctor got closer to the door, he noticed Sarah Jane tied to a surgical bed with a woman standing near her. He noticed the Zygon standing at the foot of the surgical bed, two other ‘humans’ standing just behind him.

“You can’t do this! Surely there’s planets that are vacant, why come here?” Sarah Jane asked, trying her best to break out from her restraints.

“Earth is perfect for us and the humans are stupid. We must replace them.” The woman next to Sarah Jane said. The Doctor then watched as that woman turned into a Zygon herself, “Now, it’s time for us to start our mission.”

The Doctor watched as the female Zygon moved closer to Sarah Jane, clearly going to change her into a Zygon. He knew he had to act fast.

“No! No, please!” Sarah Jane cried as she fought against the restraints, “Please, don’t do this! Let me go! Let me go!”

Suddenly, she felt her hands and feet break free from the restraints. She looked around as she noticed the Doctor standing next to her. She grinned when she saw him as he grinned at her.

“Cover your ears.” The Doctor said as he looked at her before holding his sonic screwdriver towards the Zygons and letting the sound attack their ears.

Sarah Jane covered her ears as the Zygons called out in pain, their hands covering their ears. When the Doctor stopped, he helped Sarah Jane off the surgical bed and the two ran out of the control room. As they ran out, they noticed the younger Doctor running onto the spaceship. They went into the shadows, trying to keep away from him.

“Where’s Sarah?” They heard him ask.

“She just left.” The male Zygon laughed, “You need to run after your primate companion, Doctor.”

“That wasn’t her, I’m not stupid.” The younger Doctor said. Sarah Jane couldn’t help but feel like it was a stab in the chest as they watched on, “She’s gone and there are only two places she could be and she’s not in the TARDIS. Now, give her to me and leave this planet!”

“You ask for so much, Doctor.” The other female Zygon who was still disguised stepped forward, “Your words don’t work so easily on us. If they did, do you not think we would have left by now and you and Miss Smith would be enjoying some lovely picnic?”

“Yes probably but you obviously need a little more convincing.” The younger Doctor grinned.

“I remember this but I didn’t find you.” The Doctor whispered for Sarah Jane, “I don’t know how I did.”

“What about the Zygons? What do we do with them? They have fleets on the way.” Sarah Jane explained.

“Oh, I save the day as usual.” The Doctor replied, “It’s better we find the younger you. Us being here could tamper with the timeline, we’re better looking for her.”

Sarah Jane looked around herself. She then noticed another green glowing light further down the hall. She took the Doctor’s hand, nodding to him.

“This way.”

The two ran down the hall as they followed the other glowing green light. When they turned the corner, they noticed two more Zygons standing near a group of unconscious bodies that were sitting up against the wall. The two looked around the corner as they noticed the two women and two men the other Zygons had been using as disguise but there was one more person. The younger Sarah Jane.

She was passed out like the rest, sitting at the end closest to the Zygons. There was a smaller control system behind them and the two needed to figure out a way to get past them.

“Get your screwdriver out.” Sarah Jane asked quietly.

“What?” The Doctor asked.

“Just get it out!” Sarah Jane huffed.

He took out his screwdriver before they both pointed their sonic devices to the controls near the Zygons. They sonicked the controls as they started to spark and exploded. The two Zygons in the room stepped back, running back to the main control room as Sarah Jane and the Doctor kept in the shadows until they were gone. When they were gone, the Doctor and Sarah Jane went into the smaller control room and checked on the younger Sarah Jane and the other people. Sarah Jane tried to wake the others but the Doctor caught her eye. 

The Doctor was checking up on the others before finally coming to the younger Sarah Jane. He scanned her with his sonic screwdriver to check she was alright. The Doctor checked her temperature as he pressed the back of his hand on her forehead. Sarah Jane was surprised that she felt a little jealous of herself as he carefully checked the younger Sarah Jane over. Sarah Jane watched on though, noticing how caring and gentle the Doctor was with her younger self. Seeing the way he was with her like this made her realise how much he cared for her, even if it just felt like it was only in the moment.

“Am I, um…” Sarah Jane itched her head, trying to figure how to word what she wanted to say, “Is she okay?”

“Yeah.” The Doctor nodded, “Just passed out.” He cupped her face as the younger Sarah Jane’s eyes started to flutter, “Oh, she’s waking up. We better get going.”

“Wait, what about the other Doctor?” Sarah Jane asked as she walked around to him, “How do we know he’s sorted everything?”

Suddenly, they felt the building shake. Sarah Jane stumbled slightly, the Doctor holding onto her to steady her. They looked around themselves before looking to one another.

“I think that’s our cue.” The Doctor said.

They felt the building shake again and they knew they had to move. The Doctor took Sarah Jane’s hand and the two ran down the stairs and out the building. They ran down the alleyway but turned to see the Zygon ship fly away. They noticed the four people the Zygons used as disguise walk out of the building, itching their heads and looking very confused as they looked around.

“You okay?” The Doctor turned to her.

“Yeah.” Sarah Jane nodded, itching her head, “Yeah, I’m okay. It was just odd seeing us at this time.”

“I know what you mean.” The Doctor said. He then held it out his hand to her, “Come on, I think we still have most of that concert left.”

Sarah Jane giggled. She took his hand as they headed back to the Hammersmith Odeon. The concert had not long started and the two got a good spot in the crowd. They were just in time for a song that was just about to start.

Ooh, you make me live

Whatever this world can give to me

It’s you you’re all I see

Ooh, you make me live now, honey

Ooh, you make me live

Sarah Jane turned for a moment as she noticed the younger Sarah Jane and Doctor come into the venue. They talked as they walked through the crowd, stopping a few feet away from the older Sarah Jane and Doctor. Sarah Jane watched as they talked. She could tell the two were bickering and she couldn’t help but smile. She looked up to the Doctor as she nudged him. The Doctor turned her as she pointed over to them. The Doctor watched their younger selves and he noticed how they bickered too. He laughed as he put his arm around Sarah Jane, bringing her more into chest.

“Nice to see nothing’s changed.”

Oh, you’re the best friend that I ever had

I’ve been with you such a long time

You’re my sunshine and I want you to know

That my feelings are true

I really love you

Oh, you’re my best friend


	4. New New York

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a very bumpy ride in the TARDIS, Sarah Jane isn’t in the best mood.

Sarah Jane stepped out into the pouring rain as she gasped. She looked up to the rain, going to put her jacket over her head to protect herself. They seemed to have landed in a very dark alleyway that almost looked abandoned. Sarah Jane was not in one of the best moods after the quite bumpy ride they just had. The Doctor stepped out behind her as he took in a deep breath, smelling the air. He grinned, feeling the rain on his face.

“Ah, New New York!” The Doctor grinned, “You know it’s actually the fifteenth New York so really, it should be called New New New New New New New New New New New New New New New York.” He chuckled before noticing Sarah Jane’s deadpan expression. His face dropped, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” Sarah Jane shook her head, sighing a little.

“Sarah, you can tell me.” The Doctor put his hand on her shoulder.

“It’s nothing, honest.” Sarah Jane replied.

“Sarah.” The Doctor simply said. Sarah Jane sighed.

“I want to go home.” Sarah Jane replied.

“What?” The Doctor frowned. It felt like a stab in the heart. He thought she was having fun. Why was she saying this? “What’s made you say that?”

“Well, let’s see, shall we? Me and Jareth nearly died on Mars, I got kidnapped by Zygons and now we land here after a very bumpy ride in the TARDIS.” Sarah Jane huffed.

“It’s not like you to turn your nose up to a new planet. Besides, I thought you were used to things like that happening back on Earth? What you do isn’t exactly safe either.” The Doctor replied.

“Oh, it’s not the same!” Sarah Jane snapped, “If something happened to me, I’m back home. It can be handled.”

“Do you think I’d not bring you back home? I wouldn’t just leave you on some planet?”

“What if there was no way of us getting back home? That still can be very much a possibility, no matter how many times you get out of those situations before.”

“Sarah, I wouldn’t let anything like that happen to you. You know that. There’s not a chance in hell that I would let that happen.”

“There were too many close calls in the past couple of days. I can’t live this life anymore.” Sarah Jane rubbed her head, “I have to stay home. I have a son to look after, a planet to protect!”

“Luke will be fine.” The Doctor grabbed her hand as she turned back to him, “We’ve not been away for long. Luke can handle you being away from home, can’t he?”

“He’s a fifteen year old boy!” Sarah Jane snatched her hand away from him, “A boy created by the Bane, who knows what could happen whilst I’m gone!”

“You’re dwelling on that too much. Besides, Luke would tell you if something had happened.” The Doctor tried.

“You don’t know him. He bottles it all up.” Sarah Jane replied as she started to walk away from him, “I need a minute to myself.”

“Where are you going?” The Doctor jogged after her.

“For a look about!” Sarah Jane shouted back with a frown.

“Sarah, come on! Wait.” The Doctor tried, “We can talk about this.”

She just held up her hand to shoo him off. The Doctor sighed as he watched her walk on. He understood why she was feeling like this but it was so out of the blue. Why was she saying this now? He remembered how she said something similar before she left but it was her trying to get a reaction out of him. The Doctor loved travelling with Sarah Jane and he hated that she felt like this. All he wanted to do was protect her.

As Sarah Jane walked on, she felt someone grab her by the waist. Sarah Jane yelped, trying to get out of the arms of whoever grabbed her as she dropped her jacket. The Doctor watched as the two people in motorcycle helmets grabbed Sarah Jane. His stomach dropped.

“Let me go!” Sarah Jane shouted as she kicked and screamed.

“Sarah!” The Doctor shouted as he ran down the alleyway.

“Doctor!” Sarah Jane shouted back to him. She tried to break free and reach out to him but the grip the person who grabbed her had on her was very strong.

“Let her go!” The Doctor shouted as he approached, “Let her go!”

“We need her.” The masked person said simply in a husky voice. They produced a little patch with the word ‘sleep’ written on it and pressed it against her neck. The Doctor should have known not to bring Sarah Jane here. It was exactly like Martha and the Motorway and he had no idea how he was going to get Sarah Jane back if they took her away.

“Don’t you dare put that on her neck!” The Doctor shouted, “Let her go!”

He watched as Sarah Jane instantly fell asleep as the two masked people dragged her away.

“Stop this!” The Doctor exclaimed as he ran after them, “Come back!”

The masked people ran through a long hall, Sarah Jane now draped over the shoulder of the person that had grabbed her. The Doctor ran after them, trying his best to follow after them. He watched as they turned left, going into a door. They disappeared behind the door and slammed it behind them. The Doctor reached the door, trying to open it but he couldn’t. He took out his sonic screwdriver but that didn’t work either. The Doctor looked back up to the door as he panted. He then looked around himself, trying to figure out another way to get into wherever they took Sarah Jane. The Doctor kicked a bucket near him, annoyed that he couldn’t keep up with them.

The Doctor thought about going back to the TARDIS trying to find something that could help locate Sarah Jane or to even just unlock the door. He brought Sarah Jane’s jacket up to his face, taking in her scent. He felt so helpless. He looked down the long hall that he was now in and decided to go further along. As he jogged down the hall, the Doctor noticed people approaching him. As he squinted his eyes, he noticed that they were two cat people. He jogged up to them, hoping they could help.

“Excuse me, sorry.” He ran up to the cat people, “My friend got taken away by these two people in masks, I was just wondering what’s behind this door here. I need to find her quickly.”

“Her?” The male cat asked, “Oh, you’re not going to get her back. Especially if she’s behind those doors.”

“What do you mean?” The Doctor asked.

“You don’t know?” The female cat frowned. The Doctor shook his head, “They take away all the female humans. Any they can get a hold of. Most of them come back but if they do, they are never the same as they once were. Just addicted to whatever patch they’ve been stuck on for the past few months.”

“Patch?” The Doctor asked. He then gestured to his neck, “You mean the…?”

“Drug patches, yes.” She nodded.

“Oh no.” The Doctor looked around himself, “And what exactly are they doing in there?”

“Testing them. Checking they actually work.” She replied.

“Do you know if there is any way of me getting in? Any way at all?”

\- - -

Sarah Jane slowly opened her eyes as she sat up. Her head was pounding and she felt quite nauseous. She sat up as she looked around herself, noticing the small surgery room she was in. It was dark and Sarah Jane couldn’t see much around her except her immediate surroundings. She felt the patch on her neck and pulled it off. Sarah Jane looked at it, frowning when she read the word ‘sleep’ on the patch. She then noticed that she wasn’t wearing the clothes she had come in and instead, she was dressed in a dark blue boiler suit. Sarah Jane frowned as she got up slowly.

“Woah.” Sarah Jane softly, leaning on the little sink next to her as she took a dizzy spell. She rubbed her head.

When she managed to get her balance, bright lights came on. Sarah Jane covered her eyes, the bright lights making her head hurt more. She stood back, bumping into the metal sink behind her. When her eyes adjusted to the lights, she noticed the person standing before. Like the people who had kidnapped her, they were masked too. She couldn’t tell if they were male or female or even if they were the same people that took her away from the Doctor.

“What’s going on?” Sarah Jane asked, “Where am I?”

“You don’t need to worry.” The monotone voice said. They moved closer to Sarah Jane as she backed into the wall. Sarah Jane panted, terrified by what they were going to do to her, “You should relax.”

“No. Don’t come near me. Just tell me what’s going on.” Sarah Jane tried, her back now firm against the wall.

“You should relax.” The masked person said. They moved closer to her as they grabbed Sarah Jane’s hand and pulled her towards them. Sarah Jane tried to fight them but she struggled. The masked person flung her onto the bed in which the restraints wrapped around her wrists and ankles. Sarah Jane tried to get out but she couldn’t, “The doctor will be with you shortly.”

Sarah Jane knew they didn’t mean her Doctor. Though she was angry with him, Sarah Jane wanted nothing more than to be with the Doctor right now.

“Let me out!” Sarah Jane shouted, “Let me out of here now!” Sarah Jane huffed when the masked person left. She thought about the Zygons previously and how she had been bound to the table like this. She rolled her eyes as she leaned back onto the bed, “This is what I’m talking about.”

Suddenly the doors opened and two men in lab coats walked in. One held a clipboard whilst another held a transparent sheet in his hands. 

“This is our newest volunteer.” The shorter man explained. He was quite mousey and wore glasses as he read from his clipboard, “We found her in the Undercity. We think she’s a traveller though. She’s the first female we’ve found on the streets in a month.”

“I’m not a volunteer!” Sarah Jane frowned, “I was kidnapped! Get me out of this thing!”

“She’s quite feisty.” The taller man raised his brow before he grinned. The taller man was blonde and seemed very rich and pompous, “I like that in a woman. A little extra kick.”

“Yes, they said she put up quite the fight.” The shorter man nodded. He looked back to the checklist, “She went to sleep almost instantly with the sleep patch.”

“Perfect.” The taller man said as he looked through the sheet he had in his hand, “Best to go with the obvious then.”

“Don’t come near me!” Sarah Jane tried to move away the best she could but she struggled, “Don’t! Get away from me!”

“This won’t hurt at all.” The taller man simply smiled as he pressed a patch against her neck.

Sarah Jane continued to shout for a few more seconds before she suddenly quietened down. She seemed to have relaxed a lot more, quite content in the bed. The taller man laughed as he turned to the shorter man.

“Mellow! Works a treat.” He grinned, “We better move onto the others.”

\- - -

The Doctor continued down the hall as he noticed another door. He tried it before taking out his sonic screwdriver. He held the device but it didn’t work again. He sighed to himself when he remembered he still had Sarah Jane’s jacket. The Doctor searched through her pockets and thankfully, he found her sonic lipstick. He used the two sonic devices on the door and it unlocked. He grinned to himself as headed into the building.

The Doctor found himself in what looked like another long hallway. He looked around and could hear voices not far from where he was. He decided to follow the voices, jogging down the hall. He ran to the end where he reached some stairs. The Doctor went up to them and found he was on the lower levels. There was a guide to the building.

“Testing.” The Doctor pointed to the little map, “That’s the one.”

Suddenly, the door opened and someone who seemed to be a doctor stepped out. The Doctor went back down the steps, watching as the other doctor went upstairs. When the coast was clear, the Doctor opened the door and went into the testing department. The building that he had now gathered was either a hospital or science lab of some sort was full of long corridors but this corridor had a lot of doors with small windows next to them.

The Doctor looked into one of the windows, noticing a woman sleeping on a bed. He noticed the sleep patch on her neck and that she was dressed in a boiler suit. The Doctor walked along the corridor, looking in a couple more windows with women in the rooms. One seemed quite happy whilst the other was throwing things and screaming with anger. He noticed the patches on their necks too. The Doctor wanted to help but there was only so much he could do. This was a fixed point in history, he couldn’t mess with this. All he knew was that he needed to find Sarah Jane fast.

\- - -

Sarah Jane had been given a few more patches after the mellow patch. She now had the anger patch on and was currently shouting at the two men conducting their experiments. The men weren’t phased, simply taking notes on their checklist. 

“Well, that’s anger conducted.” The shorter man said.

“You don’t say.” The taller man raised his brow. He then stepped closer to Sarah Jane, going to change her patch, “Right you, are you ready for Bliss?”

“Let me go!” Sarah Jane shouted, “I want out of here right now!”

“All in good time, my dear.” He grinned as he pressed the bliss patch against her neck, “You know, you’re our first volunteer to try Bliss. I think you’ll quite like it.”

“Get away from me! Don’t put that anywhere near me!” Sarah Jane shouted more.

Soon, she quieted down again. The two men watched as she sighed happily, The taller man grinned as he turned to his colleague.

“Now, this is Bliss.” He laughed.

Suddenly, a younger man burst into the room. He looked panicked as he rushed over to him.

“Sir, we have a problem.” He said as he walked over to the taller man, “We have an intruder.”

“Right.” The taller man nodded. He turned to his colleague, “Take the patch off her and keep her in here. We need all of them on lockdown.”

“Yes, sir.” The shorter man nodded. He took the patch off Sarah Jane’s neck before leaving the room.

Sarah Jane looked around herself as she slowly came back to reality. She started to feel sick from the come down from the patches and as she was trying to focus on not vomiting, the restraints around her wrists and ankles suddenly unlocked. Alarms blared through the building and Sarah Jane felt like her head was swimming. She got up quickly and rushed to the sink but thankfully, she didn’t throw up. Sarah Jane then turned, noticing the door of the room she was in was now open. She approached the door, looking out into the corridor as she noticed the red light of the alarm flashing. She stepped out slowly, looking up and down the corridors.

Sarah Jane started to run down the hall. She knew she had to get out of here. There was no way she was going to stay here any longer.

\- - -

The Doctor kept in the shadows, trying to find Sarah Jane in one of the rooms. He couldn’t see her in any but he spotted a CCTV room. He managed to sneak in and there was no one in the room. He looked at the cameras as he tried to look for Sarah Jane. Finally, he found her cell. There were two men over her as the taller man put a patch on her neck. The Doctor felt rage boiling in himself. How could they do this to her? To anyone? He hated seeing Sarah Jane like this and he understood why she was so angry before she was taken away. 

“Freeze!” A security guard said behind the Doctor, “Turn around, slowly.”

The Doctor turned slowly, his hands in the air. The security guard held a gun up to him. The Doctor looked around himself for a moment as he noticed a red button on the controls.

“What does the button do?” The Doctor pointed, “This big red button here.”

“Don’t move! That’s not important to you.” The guard said before talking into his walkie talkie, “Back up, we have an intruder in the building.”

“You wouldn’t mind if I pressed it then.” The Doctor said, smashing his hand onto the button.

Alarms started to go off, red lights flashing outside. The guard held up his gun, ready to shoot the Doctor.

“Hands up!” The guard barked, “I’ll shoot.”

The Doctor held up his sonic screwdriver, pointing it to the guard’s earpiece. The sonic waves attacked the guard’s ears as he screamed in pain. The Doctor sprinted out of the CCTV room, heading down the corridors to Sarah Jane’s cell. He noticed the doors of other cells opening and some of the women coming out of the cells. The Doctor tried to keep his eyes peeled but he didn’t see Sarah Jane in the sea of different women all dressed in the navy blue boiler suits.

The Doctor got around the corner when he noticed Sarah Jane running towards him. The Doctor lit up when he saw her, so thankful she was okay. 

“Sarah!” The Doctor shouted.

“Doctor!” Sarah Jane smiled.

The two ran up to one another as the Doctor took her into a big hug. He lifted her off the ground, spinning around before putting her back down again.

“My Sarah Jane.” He whispered as he hugged her tightly, “I thought I lost you.” The Doctor cupped her face, “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” Sarah Jane replied. She was so relieved to see the Doctor too. Her heart was beating fast, the adrenaline kicking in, “We need to stop them, Doctor. They’re making everyone take these mood patches, they did it to me.”

“I know. I came here with Martha, a few years after this. I should have never brought you here, I’m sorry. We need to go.” He took her hand and was about to run but she stopped him.

“We can’t just run off. There’s so many women here getting subjected to this.” Sarah Jane frowned. Why wouldn’t he help them? She didn’t understand, “We have to do something.”

“We can’t. This is a fixed point in time, Sarah Jane. We’d create a paradox.” The Doctor explained.

“But we have to at least let these people go. They can’t just stay here forever!” Sarah Jane tried. Fixed point in time or not, she wasn’t willing to see all these women be subjected to this. It was horrific for her in the short time she had been here, how much worse would it be for the others who have been here for months and maybe even years, “Please, Doctor.”

The Doctor looked into Sarah Jane’s eyes and he could see them filling up. He didn’t know what exactly had happened to her but he knew it had been scary for her. He knew she was right. The Doctor looked around himself before he held out his hand. 

“Come on, we need to find the doors. We can take them there.” The Doctor said.

Sarah Jane smiled as she took his hand. The two ran down the corridors as they weaved through the people. As they ran, The Doctor handed Sarah Jane her jacket and when they reached the main doors. They tried to open them but couldn’t.

“There’s too many deadlocked doors around here.” The Doctor huffed.

“Well, aren’t you glad you’ve got me?” Sarah Jane smiled.

The two took out their sonic devices as the Doctor smiled at her. They sonicked the doors as they flung open.

“Come on! Everyone, let’s go!” The Doctor shouted to everyone. The women all turned around and started to head for the doors, “You’re free! Come on!”

“Quick! That’s it!” Sarah Jane encourages them.

The Doctor and Sarah Jane cheered as the women all walked out of the building, feeling the rain on their skin. The doctors in the building ran up to the doors, guards in front with guns. The Doctor and Sarah Jane got out, quickly closing the doors behind them as they locked the door with their sonics. Some women came to hug the Doctor and Sarah Jane whilst others continued to enjoy the rain. Soon, all the women left the alleyway in front of the hospital. The Doctor watched as Sarah Jane stepped out into the rain, her jacket over her head. She looked up to the rain, smiling as she felt the rain on her skin.

“I thought I was going to be stuck there forever.” Sarah Jane said quietly.

“How are you feeling?” The Doctor asked.

“I’m okay.” She nodded. She looked up to him as she tried a small smile, “I’m alright.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah.”

They headed back to the TARDIS. The two dumped their wet coats on the pillars as the Doctor walked around the console. Sarah Jane held her phone in her hand, quietly looking at parts of the TARDIS. The Doctor watched her but couldn’t tell what she was thinking. He wasn’t sure if she was angry or not. The Doctor looked at the monitor before he stood up straight.

“Do you still want to go home?” The Doctor asked. 

Sarah Jane turned to him. She bit her lip, thinking for a moment. The Doctor wanted her to come with him, even just for one more trip but he understood if she wanted to go home. He couldn’t make her come with him. He watched her as she shuffled in her shoes, patiently waiting for her answer. Finally, Sarah Jane looked up to him again.

“No.” Sarah Jane shook her head, “Not yet.”

“Are you sure?” The Doctor asked.

“Mhm.” Sarah Jane nodded, “We’re just getting started, aren’t we?”

The Doctor chuckled as he bowed his head. Sarah Jane approached him, looking at the monitor for a moment.

“I’m sorry.” Sarah Jane said softly.

“What for?” The Doctor frowned.

“For blaming you for the stuff that happened with the Ice Warriors and Zygons. That wasn’t your fault, I mean, it comes with the job, doesn’t it? I should have expected this sort of thing to happen. I think I just took it out on you because you were the one who brought me there.” Sarah Jane bowed her head, “It’s quite hypocritical really. This sort of thing happens a lot back home with the work me and the kids do. I think it would just be different with you.”

“I understand.” The Doctor nodded, “You don’t need to apologise. It is my fault, I put you in danger.”

“I’m no better. I put my own son and his teenage friends in danger. But we’re alive and safe.” Sarah Jane lit up, “And the universe is safe.”

“Yes, it is.” The Doctor smiled, “You’re brilliant, Sarah. So brilliant.”

Sarah Jane giggled softly as she looked up to him.

“I know.” She shrugged.

The two laughed quietly before softening as they looked at each other. The Doctor was so happy Sarah Jane didn’t want to go home yet. He wasn’t sure if he could let her go so easily. The same could be said for Sarah Jane. They needed each other right now. If not for long, they had each other in this moment and they couldn’t be happier.

“Where do you want to go?” The Doctor asked.

“Surprise me.” Sarah Jane replied.

The Doctor chuckled. Sarah Jane watched as the Time Lord pressed buttons and twisted controls on the console. She smiled, deciding to go call Luke. The Doctor watched her step off to talk to Luke and he smiled to himself. His Sarah Jane, with him, not forever but for now. That was enough for the two of them.


	5. Crashed The Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Landing in Los Angeles, 1939, the Doctor and Sarah Jane crash a house party where a lot of things finally come to light.

Sarah Jane stepped out of the TARDIS into what looked like an American street at night. However, she wasn’t looking around much when she was more concerned about the rain. She went back into the doorway of the TARDIS for shelter as she looked back to the Doctor.

“Could we maybe go somewhere it isn’t raining?” Sarah Jane asked.

“Oh, don’t start complaining again.” The Doctor teased as he nudged her. He stood behind her as the two looked out onto the street. The Doctor stuck out his tongue suddenly and licked his index finger as he held it outside, Sarah Jane frowning as she watched him, “Los Angeles, 1939. What is it?”

“Since when were you able to do that?” Sarah Jane frowned.

“Oh, it’s a relatively new thing.” The Doctor shrugged, “I just keep getting better and better.”

Sarah Jane just shook her head as she giggled. She leaned her head against the door of the TARDIS as they watched the rain.

“Shall we get going?” The Doctor asked.

“Yeah, if you find an umbrella.” Sarah Jane turned to look at him with a smirk.

“I’ll be back.” The Doctor tapped her nose gently before going to look for an umbrella.

Sarah Jane chuckled as she stood at the doors.

“Here we are.” The Doctor returned as Sarah Jane let him step out into the rain. He put the umbrella as he smiled. He then offered his arm, “Shall we?”

Sarah Jane shut the TARDIS doors behind her as she hooked her arm in his, the two standing under the umbrella. The two walked out onto the street and decided to walk up. They noticed the Hollywood sign in the distance as they walked along. They heard music in the distance from one of the large houses and looked to one another.

“What do you say we go to a party, hm?” The Doctor asked.

“We can’t just crash a party.” Sarah Jane frowned, “They won’t know who we are.”

“Oh, come now, Sarah. People can be very forgetful, you know.” The Doctor grinned as he produced his psychic paper.

Sarah Jane couldn’t help but laugh. That was enough to confirm to the Doctor that they should go to the party. They walked up to the house, the Doctor ringing the doorbell.

The door was answered by a maid, a smile on her face though she frowned. The Doctor grinned at the maid.

“Hello! Here for the party.” He laughed.

“Oh, yes. Of course, come in.” The maid nodded before going to call for the hostess, “Ma’am? Ma’am?”

“Are you alright, Alice?” The hostess entered. She was tall and brunette. She had to be in her early forties and was very pretty. She wore a long extravagant white gown and held a glass of wine in her hand. She smiled to the Doctor and Sarah Jane, “Oh, hello. I’m sorry, have we met? Are you friends of my husband?”

“We met very briefly at the Warner Brothers Christmas do, Mrs. Anderson.” The Doctor grinned, “Dr. John Smith. We talked about that Bette Davis film, ‘Jezebel’.”

“Oh yes. Yes, I remember you. Fantastic picture. Forgive me, I can be so forgetful at times.” The hostess laughed as she patted the Doctor’s arm, not going unnoticed by Sarah Jane, “And please, call me Irma.” She turned to Sarah Jane as she smiled, “Is this your wife?”

“No, this is my…” The Doctor went to introduce Sarah Jane but he was stuck for a moment. He was about to say that she was his wife but he just denied that. He tried to figure out how to introduce her. Since Sarah Jane started travelling with him again, he felt himself starting to fall for her. He always had feelings for her but he tried to suppress it. It was one of the reasons he left her all these years ago as well as the fact that humans weren’t allowed on Gallifrey. When they met up again, Sarah Jane did pretty much tell him that she had fallen in love with him but he doubted that she loved him still, at least in that sense. She had almost got married so she clearly wasn’t in love with him anymore, “This is my very best friend, Sarah Jane Smith.” He tried a laugh, “No relation.”

“Irma Anderson. It’s very nice to meet you.” Irma introduced herself as she shook Sarah Jane’s hand.

“And you.” Sarah Jane smiled.

“Oh, here he comes!” Irma turned to see her husband approaching. He was also very tall and had a good physique with ginger hair. There was something about him that reminded Sarah Jane of Jareth but more well groomed, “Franklin, dear, this is Dr. John Smith and Sarah Jane Smith. They aren’t married. This is my husband, Franklin.”

“Great to meet you both.” Franklin grinned as he shook their hands.

“You too.” The Doctor grinned as Sarah Jane nodded.

“Pardon me for asking this but did you know the dress code?” Irma asked, “Everyone’s in gowns and tuxes and you two look like you’re going for a Sunday walk.”

“Oh, well, we were quite late leaving the office, eh, Sarah?” The Doctor nudged Sarah Jane’s arm as he ignored the slight dig from Irma about their clothes.

“Yeah.” Sarah Jane chuckled.

“Why don’t you come upstairs, Sarah Jane? I’m sure we’re the same size, we can find something.” Irma offered.

“Would that be alright?” Sarah Jane asked as she fiddled with the sleeve of her jumper.

“Of course, it’s no trouble at all and John can get one of Franklin’s suits.” Irma replied.

“Oh no, I’m alright, thank you very much though.” The Doctor shook them off.

“Oh come now, John.” Franklin put his arm around the Doctor, “You’ll stick out like a sore thumb in there. Honestly, it’s no problem at all. I’ll take you up now.”

Sarah Jane chuckled as she watched the Doctor getting taken upstairs with Franklin.

“Sarah Jane, I’ll take you up to my closet too.” Irma said, “Alice, could you make sure Sarah Jane and John have some champagne when they’re ready?”

“Of course, Ma’am.” Alice nodded and headed into the living room.

Sarah Jane and Irma went up to the bedroom and went to Irma’s large closet. Irma looked through her dresses as Sarah Jane looked around the bedroom.

“Your home’s beautiful.” Sarah Jane said softly.

“Oh, thank you. We moved here a year ago and we’ve finally finished last month.” Irma chuckled. She then turned around as she held a dress, “How come you’re in America then? It’s clear you’re not from here.”

“No.” Sarah Jane chuckled, “Me and John are travelling for a bit so we thought we would come to America.”

“You and John, hm?” Irma raised her brow with a smirk, “What is he to you then? Boyfriend? Fiancé? Lover?”

“No no.” Sarah Jane laughed as she tried to shrug off Irma, “Nothing like that.”

“Oh come on,” Irma chuckled, “It’s clear there’s something between you two. Sarah Jane, you can tell me.”

“Honestly, there’s nothing going on. We’re just very good friends.” Sarah Jane nodded with a little smile, “Best friends.”

“Liar.” Irma laughed, “I can see the way you look at him. The way he looks at you. It is so clear. This was like some good friends of mine. For years they denied they liked each other and then suddenly, one day, they couldn’t live without each other. They’re married now.”

Sarah Jane just nodded and smiled. She couldn’t help but feel her feelings for the Doctor come back as she travelled with him more but it was expected. It came with the experience of travelling with him, at least for her. It was hard not to fall for him when he was showing her such amazing things. But even if he reciprocated those feelings, there was no way they would get married. She wouldn’t want that from him anyways. Sarah Jane wasn’t sure what she wanted from the Doctor.

“Well, that won’t be me and John.” Sarah Jane smiled, “Just friends.”

“Whatever you say.” Irma chuckled before winking to her, “Right, let’s get you ready.”

\- - -

The Doctor stood with Franklin in the living room. They chatted to some people but he felt very uncomfortable in his tuxedo. Being in a tuxedo made him anxious, he firmly believed that bad things always happened when he put a suit and bow tie on. He fiddled with his cufflinks, looking around almost like an agitated child. The Doctor then noticed Irma appearing from the hall. She talked to someone near her before gesturing to her left. Sarah Jane then stepped out from the landing into the living room and the Doctor was in awe.

Sarah Jane wore a satin emerald green gown with a cowl back. Her hair was wavy with her fringe pinned back to give her a middle parting. She wore simple but clearly expensive jewellery and she really did shine like one of the diamonds she wore. The Doctor thought she looked perfect. One of the most magnificent things he had ever seen in the whole universe and the next. The two women laughed as they approached the Doctor and Franklin. Sarah Jane made eye contact with the Doctor and she too was very surprised by how good the Doctor looked. She had never seen him in a tuxedo before and she thought he really suited it. Sarah Jane thought he looked so handsome and she could feel her stomach turning to knots as she moved closer and closer.

“Shall we go get another drink, dear?” Franklin asked Irma, both knowing it was a ploy to leave the Doctor and Sarah Jane on their own.

“Yes, let’s!” Irma nodded before turning to the Doctor and Sarah Jane, “You two mingle, I’ll make sure Alice gets you your drinks.”

The two just nodded and smiled as the married couple wove through the crowd of people talking. When they were left alone, the Doctor and Sarah Jane looked at one another. They were slightly stumped for words but finally, the Doctor said something.

“You look beautiful, Sarah.” The Doctor smiled, “Absolutely beautiful.”

“Oh.” Sarah Jane giggled as she blushed, she looked down to her dress before back up to him, “Thank you. You scrubbed up very well yourself.”

“I was forced to. I feel very uneasy wearing a bow tie. Bad things usually happen when I wear a bow tie.” The Doctor huffed, trying to loosen his collar.

“Well, I think you look very handsome.” Sarah Jane smiled. She brushed some dust off his shoulder as she looked up at him and the Doctor smiled back.

“Thanks very much.” The Doctor chuckled. Alice then came over, handing them both glasses of champagne, “Thank you.”

“Thank you.” Sarah Jane said. Alice smiled at the two before walking away. Sarah Jane and the Doctor turned to one another, clinking their glasses together, “Cheers.”

“Cheers.” The Doctor grinned. They took sips of their champagne as they looked around the room, “I like your hair.”

“Thanks. My head’s quite itchy though.” Sarah Jane chuckled.

The two laughed before looking around themselves. They found themselves recognising a lot of actors and other celebrities from Old Hollywood and Sarah Jane couldn’t help but feel a little star struck. Music played in the large living room and they watched as people danced, laughed and talked.

“When did you meet Irma then?” Sarah Jane asked as she went to take a sip from her champagne.

“I didn’t know. I saw the name on the door and just went along with it.” The Doctor shrugged.

Sarah Jane laughed into her glass. She shook her head as she looked at him. He smiled down to her as she laughed.

“Oh, Sarah Jane!” Irma suddenly appeared as she grabbed Sarah Jane’s arm, “There’s someone I want you to meet. It’ll take two minutes.”

“Oh, okay.” Sarah Jane nodded as she let Irma guide her through the crowd. Sarah Jane turned to the Doctor as she walked, “I’ll be right back.”

The Doctor watched as Sarah Jane disappeared with Irma. He took a final sip of his champagne before putting the glass on the table next to him. He then decided to go for a walkabout, his hands in his pockets. As he walked around, he noticed the doors to the professional kitchen. The double doors had circular windows and the Doctor looked into the kitchen. He watched as the catering staff cooked and a few waiters bustled around. The Doctor was about to turn around when he heard a glass smash. He looked back and noticed that a waiter had collapsed. A group of people crowded around him and the Doctor knew he had to go see if he was alright, whether it was alien or not.

“Stand back.” The Doctor ran in, “Stand back. I can help.”

“Who are you?” The head chef asked.

“I’m the Doctor so just trust me. What’s wrong with him?” The Doctor asked.

“I don’t know. He just collapsed.” A slightly jittery waiter said, “This has been happening a lot recently.”

“Does he have any medical conditions?” The Doctor asked as he checked the unconscious waiter’s heart.

“I didn’t mean him. A lot of us have been collapsing. This is the first time Jack’s collapsed though.” The waiter replied.

“What?”

“We don’t know what it is. It’s all been happening this past week since we’ve been preparing for Mr. Anderson’s party.”

“We thought maybe the kitchen was getting a bit stuffy for everyone so we tried to open up the place more but even that didn’t work.” The chef added, “We have no idea what’s going on.”

As the Doctor looked up from the unconscious waiter, he noticed another waiter who stood further from the rest. He was younger than the rest and looked quite timid. The Doctor noticed him backing up when the Doctor noticed him.

“Listen, get him a glass of water. He’ll come around in a couple minutes. I need to go.” The Doctor said as he got up and patted the waiter next to him.

They all watched as the Doctor rushed out of the kitchen and ran outside, all bewildered by what just happened. Thankfully it had stopped raining as the Doctor ran out onto the grounds of the large home, following the young waiter running down the grass.

“Wait!” The Doctor ran, “Wait! It’s alright, just let me talk to you.”

The waiter looked back to the Doctor but as he ran, he tripped up. The waiter fell to the ground and the Doctor caught up with him. As the waiter got up, the Doctor grabbed him before he could run.

“Hey, it’s alright. It’s alright.” The Doctor reassured, “You don’t need to run away. I just need to ask some questions.”

“I didn’t mean it. I didn’t mean it. He… he wanted me to do it.” The waiter started to cry.

“What? Who wanted you to do what?”

“It’s… it’s the gas. He’s trying to gas them.”

“Who is? Tell me, who’s trying to gas them?”

Before he could say anything, the waiter suddenly collapsed. The Doctor caught him, slowly bringing him to the ground before holding him in his lap. He checked his pulse and it was racing. The Doctor knew this wasn’t good.

“I’m gonna die. I’m gonna die.” The waiter cried more.

“It’s alright, shh. What’s your name? Tell me.” The Doctor tried.

“Eddie. What’s yours?”

“I’m just called the Doctor. Eddie, I need to know who is doing this.”

“It’s Johnny. But he’s not who he says he is. He’s an alien.”

“What type of alien? Do you know?”

“Strange name. I can’t remember. But he can change his body. He can make himself look human and… he can read minds. Almost like he can control you because of that.”

“What’s he doing with the gas? Does he want to kill everyone?”

“I think so. I don’t think he knows what he’s doing.”

“And what did he make you do?”

“He… he made me release the gas. Small quantities.” Eddie became more weak, “I didn’t mean it.”

“It’s alright. It’s alright.” The Doctor reassured him, “You were forced into it. It’s okay.”

As the waiter started to weaken, the Doctor noticed another waiter watching over the two at the doors of the kitchen. He was tall and had dark hair with a slightly gaunt face. It was clear this was Johnny, the alien Eddie was telling the Doctor about. As the Doctor looked down to Eddie in his lap, he knew that the other waiter was making him ill.

“Stop this!” The Doctor shouted, “I can help you!”

“I don’t think so, Time Lord.” Johnny shouted, “You help no one.”

“Just tell me what you need.” The Doctor said, “You can trust me. Just let him go.”

Johnny was silent as Eddie suddenly gasped loudly. The Doctor looked down to him in his lap and could see that he was slowly getting his energy back. All the other people that worked in the kitchen came out to check up on him.

“Best to get him to rest.” The Doctor said to one person as he stood up and left Eddie in their care.

As he got up, the Doctor looked at the other waiter. Johnny smirked before going back inside. The Doctor knew this was not good and he had to find out what was going on.

“Doctor?” He suddenly heard Sarah Jane. The Doctor snapped out his trance as he turned to Sarah Jane approaching him. Seeing her eased his thoughts but he knew he had to move fast, “Are you alright?” Sarah Jane looked down to Eddie on the ground, “What’s going on?”

“We have an issue.” The Doctor said.

“What’s happened? Are you alright?” Sarah Jane asked.

“I’m fine but we need everyone out.” The Doctor said, “There’s an alien here, I’m not sure what type but apparently they’ve been releasing some sort of gas. I think he’s planning to release it into the house. You’ll need to get everyone out.”

“How am I meant to get everyone out though? They’re not going to believe me.” Sarah Jane asked.

“Sarah, you have to. We can’t let them stay in there.” The Doctor said.

“And what are you going to do?” Sarah Jane looked up to him as she crossed her arms.

“I’m going to try and stop this. I need to talk to him.” The Doctor replied.

“Then I’ll come with you. After we get everyone out.”

“No, you need to stay out.”

“Oh, I don’t think so. I’m not leaving you on your own.”

“Sarah Jane, please. Please, you have to.”

Before Sarah Jane could say anything, Irma came out.

“Is everything alright?” Irma asked. She noticed the staff standing around Eddie, “Oh my God. What’s happening?”

“This may sound very unbelievable, Irma, but we have an issue. With an alien.” The Doctor replied.

“An alien?” Irma chuckled, “John, don’t be silly.”

“It’s true.” Sarah Jane replied, “John isn’t actually called John either. He’s just called the Doctor and he’s an alien too.”

“Now, look here…” Irma started but the Doctor took her hand quickly, pressing it against his chest so she could feel his two hearts. Her eyes widened, “That’s not possible.”

“Not in humans. But I’m not human. I’m a Time Lord.” The Doctor explained.

“Are you an alien too?” Irma asked Sarah Jane.

“No, I’m as human as you are. But I’m not from this time.” Sarah Jane looked to the Doctor before back at Irma, “We’re from the year 2009.”

“2009?!” Irma said, “That’s seventy years away!”

“Look, we’ll explain later but right now, we need everyone out of your home.” The Doctor said, “You’re all in serious danger.”

“What is going on?” Franklin then came out, “Why are you all congregating out here?”

“We need to get everyone out.” Irma turned to her husband.

“What? Why?” Franklin asked. He could tell his wife was slightly distressed and he looked back to Sarah Jane and the Doctor, “What’s happening?”

“There’s an alien that wants to gas the house.” Sarah Jane explained.

“Don’t be ridiculous!” Franklin laughed.

“Franklin, it’s true. We need to get everyone out now.” Irma tried, “I know it sounds… crazy but it is.”

“Look, you need to go.” The Doctor explained, “Go out the front, you’d be better out there.”

“Right.” Franklin nodded before turning to Irma, “I’ll get everyone out, you go get the girls.”

“Alright.” Irma nodded.

The couple headed into the house and the Doctor watched as they moved everyone out through the french doors.

“I’m staying.” Sarah Jane said.

“You’re not.” The Doctor replied, “You have to go.” He looked deep into her eyes and he knew she was worried, “I’ll be alright, please just go.”

“You better come out of that house.” Sarah Jane pointed to him.

“I will. You know me,” He grinned, “I’m resilient.”

Sarah Jane chuckled. The two hugged before the Doctor kissed her head. Sarah Jane then gathered all the staff and they headed back into the house. The Doctor watched as she walked into the house and he couldn’t help but feel his hearts beat fast. He had no idea what he was heading into.

\- - -

Irma came downstairs, her youngest daughter in her arms whilst her eldest daughter walked tiredly at her side. Franklin came out to the landing with all their guests following after them.

“Is that everyone?” Irma asked.

“Yeah, it is.” Franklin nodded. He then picked up their eldest daughter as she rubbed her eyes, “Come on, honey. I know you’re tired.”

They headed towards the door and Irma turned the knob but it was locked. She looked for the key but couldn’t find it.

“Where’s the key?” Irma asked.

“I thought it was there.” Franklin pointed.

“Alice?” Irma shouted, “Where’s the key?”

“Sorry, I kept with me because I thought we had more guests.” Alice came through the crowd as she went to unlock the door but it didn’t unlock. She tried to open it but it didn’t work.

“Open the door, Alice.” Franklin said.

“I can’t.” Alice started to panic.

“Open the door, goddamnit!” Franklin shouted.

“I can’t! I can’t! It won’t unlock!” Alice replied.

Irma went to open the door but couldn’t open it.

“We’re trapped.” Irma said.

Before anyone could think, a soft hissing sound filled the room. The windows started to steam up and people started to get more and more weak. Everyone coughed and panted, some starting to sweat and feel faint.

“It’s… it’s started.” Irma said, “The gas.”

Irma started to cry as Franklin took her into his arms, kissing her forehead.

Sarah Jane barged through, coughing as she reached the front door.

“Oh, Sarah Jane.” Irma cried when she saw Sarah Jane, “We’re trapped.”

“What?” Sarah Jane asked. She went up to the door, trying to open it. Quickly, she took out her sonic lipstick from the beggar’s bag around her wrist and pointed it to the door. Thankfully the door opened and the fresh air hit her. She smiled before holding the door open for everyone, “Out, everyone! Out now!”

\- - -

The Doctor walked into the house when he knew the living room was cleared. He headed into the staff kitchen where the gaunt waiter stood. He was aware of the gas starting to fill the house but he was alright, it wasn’t anything he couldn’t handle. Johnny wore a smirk on his face, his hands clasped in front of him.

“What are you?” The Doctor asked.

“I am Anphoik. Soon, the most powerful race in the galaxy.” Johnny replied.

“And I’m assuming you were sent to take over Earth then?”

“My people are at war, Doctor.”

“With who?”

“The Hiphrurs. My people decided we must take over as many planets in the galaxy so we could build our empire.”

“Why the gas? What’s the purpose of that? And why is Los Angeles of all places?”

“Los Angeles is the burning hub of this world. The new moving pictures, it’s all happening here. The eyes of the world are here and when I’m done with them, the eyes of this world will be on my people and their new leaders.”

“You want to kill them so you get some news coverage? That’s insane! And quite desperate actually, the Anphoik need to get a bit of a life.

“How dare you disrespect my people!” Johnny shouted, “Humans are nothing compared to my people. Can’t you hear their cries? In the hall?”

The Doctor heard the others in the hall. It was clear they were trying to get out and were trapped. He ran to do the doors to leave the staff kitchen but couldn’t. 

“Let them go!” The Doctor turned to him, “Let them out!”

“I don’t think so, Time Lord. They’re damned forever.” Johnny laughed viciously.

The Doctor pulled out his sonic from his pocket and aimed it at the door. He seemed to fiddle with it a lot more as he tried to open the door. When he finally unlocked the doors, he ran out to the hall but it was empty. The front door was wide open and he could see some people standing outside. He knew that it was Sarah Jane that got them out.

“Yes!” He exclaimed, “Oh yes!”

The waiter ran out and he knew his plan had failed. He watched as the Doctor jumped up and down with glee and it filled him with rage.

The Doctor turned to see as the waiter changed to his true form. He was now a tall greyish humanoid with scaley skin and sharp teeth. His eyes were all white and seemed to be wrinkled.

“Ooh.” The Doctor frowned, “You looked better as a human.”

“Those pathetic humans ruined my plans. They shall pay and so shall you.” He snarled.

“Oh, it wouldn’t be a good idea to kill me.”

“No. I’ll just kill the thing most important to you. I could kill her just by looking at her but you knew that.”

“Don’t you dare.” Both the Doctor’s hearts dropped, “You better not lay a finger on her.”

“I don’t need to lay a finger on her. Just a look.” The alien laughed, “What would you do then, Time Lord? Losing the human you so love the most. She can’t be with you forever, you know that. I might as well put her out of her misery now.”

“Leave her alone!” The Doctor shouted as he followed the alien through the hall, “Stop!”

“It will be so sweet to see her slowly give up and it will be even better to watch you watch her.” The alien laughed but as he stepped out of the house, he felt his skin start to burn. He looked at his hands as his skin started to flake away. He let out a blood curdling scream before fading away entirely.

The Doctor frowned as he stepped out of the house and looked at the ashes blowing in the wind. As he looked up, he looked up to the moon and he understood. He remembered how it was always daytime on the Anphoik planet and the moon burned them. It was clear why he didn’t walk over to him when he was in the garden.

The Doctor quickly ran into the house, locating where the gas was coming from and he turned it off and destroyed the dispensers with his sonic screwdriver. He then left the house as he watched the crowd of guests in front. Franklin was the first to notice him, a smile on his face as he approached him with his daughter in arms.

“Doctor.” Franklin grinned, “We saw the alien, it’s gone, isn’t it?”

“Yes.” The Doctor nodded, turning to Irma as she joined them, “He’s gone. I sorted the gas out too, you’re safe to go back in your home.”

“Oh, thank you.” Irma hugged him, also holding her other daughter, “Thank you so much.”

“It’s nothing.” The Doctor chuckled as they broke off the hug. Franklin shook his hand and spoke but the Doctor was too busy looking for Sarah Jane.

Irma and Franklin noticed he was looking for her and smiled at one another.

“She’s over there.” Franklin pointed. The Doctor noticed Sarah Jane talking to an older couple, checking up on others.

The Doctor simply smiled at him before walking to Sarah Jane. He kept his eyes on Sarah Jane the whole time and wasn’t sure how long it would take before she would notice him. Finally, she stood up straight and turned to look in his direction. Sarah Jane did a double take when she saw the Doctor, her jaw dropping slightly. She started to walk to him before jogging up to him.

The Doctor grinned, holding his arms out to her so she could run into his arms. When they reached one another, the Doctor had no time to think when Sarah Jane grabbed him by the lapels and brought his lips to hers. The Doctor’s arms dropped to his sides, in shock of the kiss as his body tightened. The kiss was very passionate and also full of relief. Slowly, his hands came up to her waist, holding her close. Finally, they broke off the kiss as they looked into one another’s eyes.

“I guess not all bad things happen when I wear a bow tie.” The Doctor said softly.

Sarah Jane chuckled.

“I thought you were dead.” Sarah Jane replied, her eyes bubbling with tears.

“You tend to make that mistake.” The Doctor smiled as he cupped her cheek.

“That’s not funny.” Sarah Jane playfully hit his shoulder before smoothing down his lapels, “Are you alright?”

“Better now. Are you okay?” The Doctor asked.

“Better now.” Sarah Jane looked up to him, giggling.

“You are brilliant, Sarah.” The Doctor said, “You truly are.”

“I learned from the best.” Sarah Jane shrugged.

The Doctor pressed his lips against hers once more, Sarah Jane rested her hands on his upper arms. They relaxed into the kiss, happy to just be with each other in the moment.

Irma and Franklin watched the two as they kissed not too far away from them.

“I knew they were going to get together at some point, huh?” Irma chuckled.

“We should have done a bet.” Franklin replied.

Everyone soon headed home and Irma and Franklin walked the Doctor and Sarah Jane to the TARDIS.

“This is your time machine?” Franklin screwed his face up, “It’s a police box!”

“It’s a disguise. It could change into anything to disguise itself wherever it landed but it broke when the Doctor landed in 1960s London.” Sarah Jane explained, “You’ll probably see something similar if you take a holiday there in thirty years.”

“Well, we’ll let you know.” Irma chuckled.

They then bid the couple farewell before going into the TARDIS. Irma and Franklin watched as the TARDIS started to fade away, making it’s familiar whooshing sound before disappearing.

“What the hell just happened?”

\- - -

The Doctor pulled a lever as he walked around the console. He untied his bow tie as Sarah Jane just came back into the console room after calling Luke. She walked over to the captain’s chair, taking her shoes off and kicking them to the side as she brought her legs up to her chest, wrapping her arms around her legs. The Doctor turned to her and smiled.

“You okay?” He asked.

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m alright.” Sarah Jane nodded, “A little tired.”

“You should get some sleep.” The Doctor said.

“No, no. I’m okay.” Sarah Jane replied. She then got up when he turned back to the console as she followed him, “Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I always am.” He grinned. He looked back to her when she didn’t say anything and his face softened, “There should have been a better way.”

“I know but you couldn’t have stopped him running out.” Sarah Jane replied, “You did what you could. And you saved all those lives too.” Sarah Jane then went to kiss his cheek, “You’re the brilliant one.”

The Doctor laughed. He turned to look at her as she leaned on the console, a smile on her lips. The Doctor then stood up straight from looking at the monitor as he faced her. He looked down to Sarah Jane’s hands, taking them in his.

“Why don’t we have a proper holiday? You and me, wherever you want.” The Doctor smiled, “What do you say?”

“Let’s do it.” Sarah Jane grinned.


	6. When in Rome

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sarah Jane and the Doctor go on holiday to Rome in the 50s.

The Doctor stood at the door of the TARDIS as he looked around. He crossed his arms before sighing, opening the door as she looked in.

“Hurry up, Sarah! We’ve got a lot to get through today.” The Doctor shouted.

“I’m coming.” Sarah Jane replied as she stepped out, brushing her skirt, “Right, let’s go.”

The Doctor turned as he did a double take. Sarah Jane wore a loose-fitting button up shirt tucked into a satin red floral midi skirt with ivory espadrille wedges on her feet. Her hair was in it’s natural curls as it was tied back in a loose bun, some curls framing her face.

“What is it?” Sarah Jane as she looked down at herself. She fiddled with her little gold hoops as she looked back up to him, “It’s a bit much, isn’t it? I’ll go change, just put some jeans on.”

“No, no.” The Doctor grabbed her arm as she turned back to him, “Don’t change. You look beautiful.”

Sarah Jane smiled. She shut the door behind her as she took his arm.

“Shall we get going?” Sarah Jane asked.

“Yes. We shall.” The Doctor smiled. They were about to walk but the Doctor stopped, “Oh wait.” He looked back, locking the TARDIS like a car. Sarah Jane chuckled as they were about to walk again but the Doctor stopped, “Oh, forgot something.”

“What is it now?” Sarah Jane rolled her eyes but was surprised when the Doctor kissed her cheek. He stood up straight with a grin, winking to her.

“That’s it. Let’s go.” The Doctor grinned.

Sarah Jane laughed, resting her head on his shoulder for a moment as they walked.

Sarah Jane and the Doctor landed in Rome in 1959 during summertime for their holiday. When they realised where they landed, the Doctor planned their day. They first went to small markets and looked around. As he looked around, he watched Sarah Jane looking at the books. She played with the curls in her hair as she talked to the man who owned the stall. She giggled, looking down at the books before her. The Doctor smiled to himself, watching how she laughed and played with her hair. He was so happy to be with her and could feel his feelings for her grow more and more. His hearts beat fast as he looked at her, thankful to finally have his love for her out in the open.

Sarah Jane moved onto another stall, looking at the fruit and veg in front of her. As she walked, a bouquet of dark red carnations appeared in front of her. She turned to see the Doctor behind her. She smiled up to him as he handed her the bouquet, smelling the sweet scent of the flowers.

“I knew you didn’t really like roses so I got you those.” The Doctor pointed, “You know the meaning of them, don’t you? Deep love and affection.”

Sarah Jane giggled, smelling the flowers again. She grinned as she felt her cheeks blush.

“I love them. Thank you.” Sarah Jane smiled as she leaned up to him, kissing him on the lips softly.

“I’m not done yet. I have another surprise for you.” The Doctor grinned.

“You do?”

“Mhm.”

The Doctor handed her a small black box. Sarah Jane smiled, giving him her flowers so she could open the box. As she opened it, Sarah Jane gasped. Inside was a beautiful golden necklace with a small Moonstone pendant. She took out the necklace, looking at the piece of jewellery.

“It’s so beautiful.” Sarah Jane chuckled.

“I’m glad you like it. I got it at that handmade jewellery stand over there. I knew it would go with your earrings.” The Doctor replied, making Sarah Jane chuckle, “Would you like me to help you put it on?”

Sarah Jane nodded as she gave him the necklace. She turned around, holding the bouquet in her hands as the Doctor put the necklace around her neck and hooked the clasp. Sarah Jane turned around, her hand resting over the necklace.

“Beautiful.” The Doctor grinned.

The two then headed to a nearby restaurant. They ate pizza outside, watching the world go by. The two laughed as they talked, remembering old stories of their days time travelling all those years before. When they were about to leave, Sarah Jane watched as the Doctor paid for the bill.

“I thought you didn’t carry money around.” Sarah Jane frowned.

“I do when I’m on holiday.” The Doctor looked up to her, a cheeky grin on his face.

Sarah Jane rolled her eyes as she laughed. The two soon left the restaurant and continued walking through the streets of Rome. They soon reached Vatican City, walking into St. Peter’s Square. People bustled around them, some taking photos and some just walking around. The Doctor and Sarah Jane decided to go to one of the museums to go have a look around. Sarah Jane was looking at a large painting in front of her when she felt a tap on her shoulder. 

“Look.” The Doctor pointed as he put his arm around her.

“It’s a door?” Sarah Jane looked at him.

“Oh, come now, Sarah.” The Doctor grinned, “Where’s that curiosity that I so love?”

Sarah Jane giggled as she shook her head. She approached the door as she took out her sonic lipstick from her bag, pointing it to the door and unlocked it. She smiled at the Doctor with a hint of attitude in her expression, her brow raised. The Doctor slowly grinned, laughing as he put his hands in pockets, rocking on his feet. He then followed Sarah Jane into the room where the door led them to. 

They stepped out into a long, extravagant hall with marble floors and more large framed biblical paintings. It was quiet in these halls compared to the museum they were just in. They looked down the halls, wondering if they were in another part of the museum or in a private hall.

“Is this the museum?” Sarah Jane asked quietly.

“Dunno. There’s no one around.” The Doctor replied, his hands still in his pockets, “Wonder where everyone is.”

“Should we even be in here?” Sarah Jane asked.

“Oh, Sarah Jane. You never seemed so bothered by trespassing before.” The Doctor raised his brow.

“Oh shut up.” Sarah Jane rolled her eyes, “Are we having a look about then?”

“That’s what I like to hear.” The Doctor winked.

Sarah Jane smiled as the two turned right to go down the corridor. They looked around, wondering where everyone was. They least expected to see a Swiss Guard standing around somewhere. As they walked, they suddenly heard screaming from what sounded like a man. The two stopped, both wondering if that was from the museum or another room. The scream sounded like a very painful scream and they both knew that if it were to be in the museum, guards would be marching up and down these corridors by now. Another scream was let out and Sarah Jane subconsciously grabbed the Doctor’s hand, now terrified by the scream.

“Should we go help them?” Sarah Jane asked.

“I don’t know.” The Doctor replied, “Where’s it coming from?”

“I think that room there.” Sarah Jane pointed to double doors on their left.

Just as she pointed, the doors opened and a cardinal stepped out. The Doctor grabbed Sarah Jane quickly by the waist, pulling her against the wall as they hid behind a large statue. They watched as the cardinal stepped out. He looked green as he dabbed his forehead with a handkerchief. He rushed over to a small bin, throwing up inside of it.

“What’s wrong with him?” Sarah Jane whispered.

“I think there’s an exorcism going on.” The Doctor replied.

Sarah Jane looked at him with a very confused look. She couldn’t believe he had just said that. She raised her brow as she looked at him, the Doctor frowning at her.

“What?”

“An exorcism? Really?”

“We are in the Vatican.”

Sarah Jane rolled her eyes.

“Hey, they do happen.”

“I know they do but no demons come out of it.”

“No, not really.” The Doctor said, “Well, some.”

Sarah Jane rolled her eyes again.

“We need to find out what’s going on.” The Doctor said just as they heard a thump against the wall they were near. He took her hand when the cardinal disappeared, going to walk down the corridor, “Come on.”

“Where are we going?” Sarah Jane frowned.

“To get some new clothes.”

\- - -

The Doctor and Sarah Jane walked down the halls again, now in disguises. The Doctor wore a red cardinal cassock whilst Sarah Jane was in a long black robe and black wimple on her head. They walked along the corridor, occasionally nodding to whoever walked past them.

“I’m sweating.” Sarah Jane whispered, “How do they wear this in the summer?”

“We won’t have to wear it for long, just be patient.” The Doctor replied, both still looking ahead.

“We look ridiculous.” Sarah Jane replied.

“Oh, come now, Sarah. I think you look great as a nun.” The Doctor nudged her gently.

Sarah Jane just laughed, rolling her eyes as they soon reached the door.

The two looked at one another, getting ready to prepare themselves to go into the room. The Doctor was about to knock when he heard Sarah Jane take a deep breath in.

“Are you alright?” The Doctor asked.

“Nervous.” Sarah Jane replied, not looking at him, “We have no idea what’s behind that door.”

“We’ll be okay.” He turned back to her, “We’ve done this a million times.”

“But it’s never been an exorcism, Doctor. We have no clue what we’re going to be dealing with.” Sarah Jane replied.

“Listen.” The Doctor cupped her face after making sure they were alone, “Nothing’s going to happen and I’m not going to let anything happen to you, okay? You trust me, don’t you?”

“Always.” Sarah Jane nodded.

The Doctor smiled, kissing her lips softly before standing back up. They looked back to the door when they heard another thump. He looked back to Sarah Jane, taking her hand as he squeezed it.

“You ready?” The Doctor asked.

Sarah Jane just nodded. The Doctor turned back to the door, knocking softly. The two reluctantly let go of each other’s hand and moved a little further away from each other. The door then opened to a priest standing behind it.

“Can I help you, father?” The priest asked.

“We were sent by the cardinal that just left.” The Doctor replied.

“Oh.” The priest nodded, “Of course. Come in.”

The Doctor was let in and Sarah Jane went to follow but the priest stopped her.

“It’s best you stay out here, sister.” The priest said, “This is not something a woman should see.”

“She’s with me.” The Doctor stepped in, “She’s a tough one, we’ve done this sort of thing together before. Come through, sister.”

Sarah Jane followed the Doctor through, the priest behind them. They walked into the bedroom as they saw a man, probably in his thirties, on the bed. His hands and feet were tied to the bed and he wore a blue long night top. At the foot of the bed, an older cardinal stood, holy water in one hand and the bible in another. When he noticed the Doctor and Sarah Jane, he frowned. The older cardinal marched over to the priest, pulling him aside as he spoke to him. The Doctor and Sarah Jane couldn’t hear what was being said but they tried their best to keep up their facade. Finally, the older cardinal approached them, holding his hand out to them.

“Cardinal Garcia.” He smiled as he shook the Doctor’s hand, “And you are?”

“I’m Cardinal… Smith. Cardinal John Smith.” The Doctor replied, “I’m new.”

“I thought so. I haven’t seen you around here before.” Cardinal Garcia nodded. He then turned to Sarah Jane and held out his hand to her, “You must be new too.”

“Yes. I’m Sister… Maria O’Connor.” Sarah Jane shook his hand.

“Are you alright to be in here, Sister?” Cardinal Garcia stepped forward, “This is not for the faint hearted.”

“I think I’ll manage, Father.” Sarah Jane nodded. It was clear the hint of sarcasm in her voice went over Cardinal Garcia’s head.

“What’s happening?” The Doctor asked as he turned to look at the man in the bed.

“Father Johnson started acting strange a week ago. We thought he was reacting to his mother passing away prior but then Father Andreas here found him crawling the ceilings in their apartments.” Cardinal Garcia explained, “We’ve been trying to get rid of this demon for days now. It seemed that it was the final straw for Cardinal O’Brien.”

“Yes. As he went past, he told us to go in instead. Both of us have had a lot of experience with um, with exorcisms.” The Doctor gestured to Sarah Jane before itching the back of his neck.

Before either of them could say anything, Father Johnson started laughing. They all turned slowly to him as he laughed. He had his eyes closed and his head back on the pillow but he suddenly stopped, his eyes shooting open and lifting his head as he looked at the four people at the foot of the bed. He looked straight at the Doctor, his red eyes burning into his soul. Father Johnson started laughing again before finally speaking.

“Doctor who?” The possessed priest said with a smirk, “Doctor who?” He then looked to Sarah Jane, “Do you know, Miss Smith? You do know a lot about him, don’t you? A lot more than what a nun should know about any man.”

“Don’t listen to the demon, sister.” Father Garcia said, “He likes to taunt you, it’s the way it gets into your mind. Pay no attention to it.”

“Oh, she’ll break in no time. After everything she's seen, I’ll have her at breaking point.” Father Johnson grinned.

“Sister, it’s probably best if you step out for this one.” The Doctor said as he looked at Father Johnson.

“What?” Sarah Jane asked, “I don’t think so. I’ll be fine.”  
“Sister, please.” The Doctor turned to her, “We’ll call you in if we need you.”

Sarah Jane couldn’t believe that he was pushing her out. This was meant to be their holiday and now she was being thrown out of a room by the Doctor in the Vatican during an exorcism. If she wasn’t in this wimple right now, she would have kicked up holy hell, quite literally. Instead, she just shook her head and walked out, slamming the door behind her. The Doctor felt horrible sending her out like that but he was scared that he was putting her at risk, especially with something like this. He wished he could just go back to enjoying his day with her but he knew he had to do something. The Doctor knew that there was a very small chance this was an actual demon and he was not leaving until he stopped this. The Doctor had no clue of what risk this had for the Earth or the universe. 

“Father Andreas, why don’t you go check on Sister Maria?” Father Garcia said.

Father Andreas simply nodded and left the room. Father Garcia noticed the Doctor still watching the door and patted his shoulder.

“Women.” Father Gracia laughed, “Come on, let’s continue.”  
\- - -

Father Andreas stepped out of the room to find Sarah Jane sitting on a marble bench in the hall. She sat forward, her legs crossed as she rested her chin on her hand. Father Andreas walked towards her slowly.

“Sister,” Father Andreas said nervously, “Are you alright?”

“Yes. I’m fine,” Sarah Jane sighed, not making eye contact with the younger man.

“Can I join you?” Father Andreas asked.

“I thought you were helping with the exorcism?”

“I got sent out here to stay with you.”  
“I’m being babysat. Typical.” Sarah Jane laughed as she shook her head. She then stood up and brushed off her black robes, “Well, you can go back in and tell Cardinal Smith that he doesn’t need to worry, I’ve gone out to play.”  
Sarah Jane spun on her heels as she walked down the hall. Father Andreas stood there, bewildered by what was going on. He decided to catch up with Sarah Jane, jogging up behind her.

“Sister, wait!” Father Andreas shouted.

“What?!” Sarah Jane snapped around, “Honestly, just leave me be!”

“I promised that I wouldn’t leave you though. Sister, please. Why don’t we sit down? I’m sure they’ll have this all sorted in no time.”

Sarah Jane just sighed. She turned back to him and looked at him. Father Andreas could have only been twenty five. He was very timid and Sarah Jane knew that he can’t have been a priest for long, especially with the look he wore on his face when he opened the door earlier. She looked to the bench near her and sat down. Father Andreas walked towards her, joining her on the bench. Sarah Jane sat forward, playing with her fingers. 

“Are you new here?” Father Andreas asked, “Cardinal Smith is so I’m assuming you are too.”

“Can you keep a secret?” Sarah Jane turned to him.

“Yeah. Yeah, I can.” Father Andreas nodded.

“We’re not actually a part of the church.” Sarah Jane replied, “We’re um, we’re time travellers.”

“You’re what?!” Father Andreas asked, “Sister, are you sure? If something’s been troubling you, you can tell me.”

“I’m not a nun!” Sarah Jane sat up with a frown, “Look, I know it’s hard to believe but it’s true.”

“How… how did you get into the Vatican?”

“Through that door there. Me and Cardinal… he’s actually called the Doctor, we were on holiday and went into the museum and then came through that door.”

“But that’s closed off to the public?”

“Nothing stops us.”

“Is that why the demon said ‘Doctor who’? Because he’s called the Doctor.”

“Yes. He clearly knew it was all a front.”

“What’s your real name then?”

Sarah Jane turned to look at Father Andreas. She smiled. She took off her wimple as she revealed her tied back hair before going to shake Father Andreas’ hand.

“Sarah Jane Smith.” Sarah Jane introduced herself.

“Adrian.” Father Andreas replied.

“Father Adrian Andreas?” Sarah Jane grinned.

“Yes. My parents liked alliteration.” Father Andreas nodded, “My sister’s called Augusta.”

Sarah Jane giggled.

“Forgive me, Sarah Jane but can I ask you something?” Father Andreas asked.

“Of course.” Sarah Jane nodded.

“Are you and the Doctor…” Father Andreas swallowed, “Together?”

“Yes. No. It’s complicated.” Sarah Jane sighed before rubbing her head, “The thing is the Doctor, he’s not exactly human and he’s lived for a very long time and will continue to do so. I won’t be able to live as long as him besides I have a life back home. I need to get back to that life at some point. You’re confused, aren’t you?”

“Just a little.” Father Andreas chuckled.

“I told you it was complicated.” Sarah Jane smiled.

“He’s not human? Is he… an alien?” Father Andreas asked.

“Yes.” Sarah Jane nodded, “A Time Lord. He can change his face, has two hearts and is over nine hundred years old.”

“That’s… insane.”

“I know.”

Father Andreas continued to talk but Sarah Jane found herself not paying very much attention as she checked her watch. She lifted the face of it as she scanned the area. The readings on her watch were through the roof. Her eyes widened, she had never seen anything like it, even when there was an alien standing right in front of her.

“Oh no.” She said to herself.

“What’s wrong?” Father Andreas asked.

“Come on.” Sarah Jane stood and headed back to the room, “I need to talk to him.”

Father Andreas followed after her as she got to the door. She went to walk in but it was locked.

“Oh, I don’t think so.” Sarah Jane took out her sonic lipstick, pointing it to the door and unlocking it. She walked in, “Doctor?”

The scene she walked into was wild. Father Johnson screamed in the bed as Cardinal Garcia continued to throw holy water on him. He was covered in cuts and bruises, the priest’s skin white as a sheet. The Doctor stood at the side, reading from a bible.

“I told you to stay outside!” The Doctor shouted.

“Sister, please, protect your modesty!” Cardinal Garcia shouted.”

“Shut up for a moment, Cardinal.” Sarah Jane turned.

“Get out, Sarah! I told you!” The Doctor tried as Sarah Jane walked up to him. 

“What are you doing?! A bible isn’t going to help him, Doctor, you know that!” Sarah Jane frowned, grabbing the bible from his hands and slamming it down on the table, “He isn’t a demon, he's an alien.”

“I know that but-.” The Doctor was about to continue but Sarah Jane interrupted.

“Look at my watch.” Sarah Jane showed him her watch. The Doctor’s eyes widened as he looked to Sarah Jane, “There might be such a thing as demons but whatever is inside of Father Johnson, that’s not one of them.”

“She’s good.” Father Johnson started laughing as Sarah Jane and the Doctor turned to him, “Better than you, Time Lord. I underestimated her.”

“Who are you?” The Doctor stepped forward.

“I’m Thesni. I’m a Kuzuk.” Father Johnson said in a suddenly very deep voice.

“Kuzuk?” The Doctor said, “Why do I know that name?”

“We’re known as body snatchers.” Father Johnson replied.

“Like the Veil.” Sarah Jane said.

“How do you know about the Veil?” The Doctor asked.

“Let’s just say I got up close and personal with one.” Sarah Jane replied before turning back to Father Johnson, “What do you want with Father Johnson?”

“He is merely a vessel. A vessel that can take me to the top, no matter how long it takes.”

“You want to become Pope?” The Doctor asked.

“Humans care so much about religion. They will follow after it no matter what. What better way to have them in my power than through the church. Someone as devoted as Father Johnson, it’s perfect.” Father Johnson replied.

“I don’t understand.” Cardinal Garcia stepped forward, “This is a demon, not an alien.”

“Trust me, Father, it’s an alien.” The Doctor replied.

“But that is preposterous! You two are intruders and delving into private matters of the Catholic church!” Cardinal Garcia started to shout, “I will see to it that you are arrested.”

“Cardinal Garcia, stop!” Father Andreas stepped forward, “If we don’t listen to Sarah Jane and the Doctor, we have no clue what the consequences will be.”

Cardinal Garcia just nodded. Father Andreas turned back to Sarah Jane who smiled a thankful smile to him. 

“What about you, Time Lord?” Father Johnson asked, “What are you doing here? You walk alone now. The last Time Lord, how sad. Your song is ending, Doctor. Very soon.”

“Don’t listen to him.” Sarah Jane told him.

“And you. Waiting all that time for him to just leave you with that tin dog. That amazing Time Lord who showed you the wonders of the universe didn’t give you a second look when you saw him again. But now you think he wants you, that he cares, that he loves you. You may be very strong, Sarah Jane Smith, but you certainly are very stupid.” Father Johnson laughed.

“You leave her alone!” The Doctor stepped forward but Sarah Jane grabbed his arm to restrain him.

“So protective. It’s quite sweet actually. So disgustingly sweet.” Father Johnson laughed, “Always the hero.”

“You know you could come into me.” The Doctor stepped forward, “You don’t need Father Johnson. His human body won’t hold out for long. I’m a Time Lord, I’ve lived for over nine hundred years and will live for many more. You need a vessel? Here I am.”

“What are you doing?” Sarah Jane asked.

“I have to.” The Doctor said, pushing her behind him.

“Doctor, stop.” Sarah Jane tried, her heart racing.

“Giving up your body to me? This is clearly not the legends of Gallifrey I heard of.” Father Johnson said.

“I’m no legend, just a very old man.” The Doctor replied.

“Very well.” Father Johnson nodded, “See you soon, Doctor.”

“Doctor, stop this!” Sarah Jane said, “You can’t do this!”

“I have to.” The Doctor turned to her, cupping her face, “I’m sorry, I have to. It’s the only way.”

“No! There should be a better way.” Sarah Jane started to cry, “Please. You can’t!”

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” The Doctor said, his eyes bubbling up too. He kissed her lips before turning back to Father Johnson.

Sarah Jane watched as the entity left Father Johnson, the priest slumping back onto the bed, now unconscious. The Doctor’s chest raised as though something entered him before falling to the ground. Sarah Jane tried her best to catch him but she couldn’t. She knelt over him, trying to wake him up.

“Doctor? Doctor?” She panted, shaking him to wake him up, “Doctor, please! Please wake up.”

Slowly, the Doctor opened his eyes but instead of seeing those warm brown eyes, Sarah Jane saw his now red ones. She didn’t know what to do and could feel her heart beating faster and faster as she looked at him. She wasn’t paying attention to Father Johnson now waking up, all his cuts and bruises gone but clearly very distressed. She wasn’t paying attention until she felt a hand on her shoulder. She jumped as she turned to look at Father Andreas.

“He’s awake. We need to get him out of here.” Father Andreas said.

Sarah Jane just nodded.

“I’ll be back, okay?” Father Andreas said.

Sarah Jane nodded again.

The three men left as Sarah Jane turned back to the Doctor. He simply just looked around, not reacting much. Sarah Jane wasn’t sure if this was still the Doctor or if Thesni but suddenly, the Doctor snapped back to her, now slightly distressed.

“You need to go! Sarah, leave now! Please! Go back to the TARDIS, she’ll take you home.” The Doctor said frantically.

“I’m not leaving you.” Sarah Jane cupped his face, “We can fix this. I know we can. There is not a chance in hell that I’m leaving you.”

“You have to or he’ll get you too.” The Doctor replied, “I can’t let that happen.”

“It won’t happen besides, better me than you.” Sarah Jane said, “I am not leaving.”

The Doctor couldn’t help but laugh at her determination but suddenly, he felt this excruciating pain in his body. He groaned in pain, his back arching as he tried to ease it. Sarah Jane watched, feeling totally helpless as she watched. 

“He has seen so much.” Thesni spoke through the Doctor, “Wars, births and deaths, love and hate, almost every planet in the galaxy. His mind is a colossus. He will be good for me.”

“You let him go.” Sarah Jane said, “You can’t do this.”

“He offered himself to me. There is nothing you can do about it.” Thesni said, raising his hand to stroke Sarah Jane’s hair, “In fact, you would make a wonderful slave to us. You said you weren’t going to leave him and that means the both of us.”

“Don’t touch me.” Sarah Jane swatted his hand away as she stood, “I will never be your slave, neither will the rest of the human race.”

“Then you will be the first to die.” Thesni raised his hand but the Doctor exclaimed, “No!” The Doctor tried to pull his arm down to his side but struggled with the entity within him, “Sarah, please. I can’t hold him back for much longer. You need to go.”

“I’m not leaving.” Sarah Jane said, “Tell me what I’ve got to do. Anything, Doctor. What can I do to get him out of you?”

“You need…” The Doctor screamed out in pain again. He panted, trying to return back to normal, “You need to exorcise me. It will work.”

“Doctor, you saw the state Father Johnson was in, I can’t do that to you! How are we sure it will even work?”

“It’s the only way.”

“I can’t hurt you like that.”

“It’s that or time will be totally rewritten. We can’t risk that.”

Before Sarah Jane could say anything, Father Andreas returned.

“What’s happening?” Father Andreas asked.

The Doctor cried out in pain again. Sarah Jane blinked through her tears, trying to compose herself.

“How much experience have you had with exorcisms?” Sarah Jane asked.

“I… A few, I’ve been present to some but I’ve never done one on my own.” Father Andreas replied.

“Well, here’s your first one. Help me get him on the bed.” Sarah Jane said as she grabbed the Doctor’s upper body, Father Andreas taking his legs.

“Restraints. The restraints.” The Doctor said tiredly.

“Okay, okay.” Sarah Jane replied as she tied the restraints on his wrists. Father Andreas tied the ones at his feet, “It’s okay, it’s okay. I promise I’ll stop this.”

“He’s fighting… he’s fighting so hard.”

“Who is? Is that you, Doctor? Or is that him?”

“It’s me, I’m still here. Sarah, you need to listen.” The Doctor took Sarah Jane’s hand that was near his restrained one, “He’s weak and… very ill. You need to get him out of me soon or he’ll grow in strength and use all my power.”

“I will. I will, I promise.” Sarah Jane nodded.

The Doctor started to groan in pain and Sarah Jane stepped back. Father Andreas held a bible and started reading scriptures. Sarah Jane bit her thumbnail, she knew this wasn’t going to work but she had to try. As Father Andreas continued, Thesni, through the Doctor, started to laugh almost manically. Father Andreas continued reading but suddenly, he was flung against the wall. Sarah Jane stepped quickly but when he landed on the ground, Sarah Jane rushed over Father Andreas.

“Are you alright?” Sarah Jane asked.

“Yes. Just sore.” Father Andreas replied, “I’m sorry, Sarah Jane. I can’t do this. I’m not prepared.”

“We need to try. I know we can do it.” Sarah Jane replied before helping him up. She looked back to the Doctor who laughed in the bed, still fighting against the restraints, “Thesni, stop this! You’re ill, you can let go! You can’t cling onto life like this.”

“Why die when I can live on in a Time Lord body? I could have so much power.” Thesni growled, “So much life.”

Sarah Jane was about to speak when the Doctor screamed in pain. She watched as he wreathed in pain, his screams piercing her ears. She tried to think of anything that could help but nothing was coming to her. The Doctor continued to scream and cry out in pain until he finally stopped. Sarah Jane and Father Andreas watched as he slumped back into the bed, not waking up. Sarah Jane rushed over to him and undid his restraints before sitting with him, trying to wake him up.

“Doctor? Doctor? Come on, please wake up.”Sarah Jane shook him, “Doctor, just wake up. Wake up, it’s okay. You can wake up.”

“He’s gone, Sarah Jane.” Father Andreas said.

“No, no. He hasn’t regenerated. He can’t be dead.” Sarah Jane said. A thought then came to her mind as she got up from the bed, “Stay with him. Please just stay with him, I need to get something.”

Father Andreas watched as Sarah Jane ran out of the room. She sprinted down the corridor to the room where she found the wimple and robes. She had left her bag there with the flowers inside. When she spotted it, Sarah Jane grabbed the bag and ran back to the room. When she came back in, Sarah Jane rushed over to the Doctor and sat next to him.

“Doctor, look. It’s me, it’s Sarah.” Sarah Jane tried. She then took one of the flowers from the bouquet out, “I have the flowers you got me today. The carnations, look. And my necklace,” She got up, taking the robe off to reveal the clothes she was wearing earlier. Sarah Jane sat forward as she tried to show the Doctor her necklace, “You helped me put it on. It even matched with my earrings,” She laughed through her tears but her worry fell over her as she cupped his face, “Oh, Doctor please. Please wake up.”

“Sarah Jane, he’s gone.” Father Andreas tried.

“No!” Sarah Jane snapped before she looked back to the Doctor, stroking his face, “I have to try. I have to try something!” Sarah Jane blinked through her tears as she leaned forward and kissed the Doctor’s cold lips. As she sat back, nothing happened. Nothing at all. Sarah Jane rested her head down on his chest but she heard nothing. It was silent. Sarah Jane started to cry, her head now buried in his chest as she cried, “No, no, no.” She muttered.

Father Andreas felt stuck as he watched the grieving woman. He had no idea what to do. It was the first time that he properly struggled to comfort someone. 

Sarah Jane continued to cry. She wished they had never even come to Rome. She wished she stayed home. He would have at least been safe and still alive. It felt like this was all her fault. How was she going to go on? She had been through so much these past few months and now this? The Doctor, her best friend, the love of her life, dead? It couldn’t be real. It couldn’t be.

As she cried, Sarah Jane suddenly felt a tap on the back of her head. She got a fright as she sat up and looked behind her but there was no one there and Father Andreas was at the foot of the bed so it couldn’t have been him. As she turned back slowly, she noticed the Doctor was now awake. She gasped as she looked down to him.

“You’re alive!” Sarah Jane exclaimed as she cupped his face and helped him sit up, “But your hearts stopped?”

“That was Thesni. He died and it was like I died with him but I didn’t. Well, I did but for a moment or so.” The Doctor shrugged weakly, “I’m alive now. I’m not going anywhere.”

Sarah Jane laughed as she kissed his lips. They kissed for a couple of seconds before Sarah Jane broke it off and hit his chest.

“You should listen to me more often!” Sarah Jane frowned, “Honestly, it’s like talking to a brick wall.”

“I didn’t want to get you hurt.” The Doctor replied as he wiped her tears before smoothing down the loose wispy curls from her bun.

“And you would have died if I wasn’t here.” Sarah Jane said, “You can be such a brute.”

The two laughed as they kissed again. The Doctor broke off the kiss, resting his forehead against hers.

“You are brilliant, Sarah Jane.” The Doctor said, “So so brilliant! My Sarah Jane.”

Sarah Jane giggled. She wrapped her arms around his him, hugging him tightly. She wasn’t going to let go just yet.

\- - -

Sarah Jane walked quietly into the Zero Room, noticing the Doctor levitating as he had his eyes closed. The floor was cold on Sarah Jane’s now bare feet as she walked in and found a place to sit. She sat on the floor, bringing her knees up to her chin as she then took out her bun and let her curly hair fall to her shoulders. She ran her fingers through her hair as she sighed softly, thinking about their day.

“How long have you been there for?” The Doctor asked, his eyes still closed.

“Not long. I just sat down.” Sarah Jane replied.

Slowly, the Doctor came down from where he was floating and returned to a standing position. He opened his eyes and smiled when he saw Sarah Jane. He walked over, joining her on the floor as he crossed his legs too.

“How are you feeling?” Sarah Jane asked.

“Better physically although I’m feeling bad about our holiday.” The Doctor replied.

“Oh, Doctor, don’t worry about it.” Sarah Jane shook her head, “I had a good time, we don’t need to count that bit.”

“It wasn’t fair on you though. We went to Rome to have a break and we got very far from that.” The Doctor replied. He then turned to her, “What about Florana?”

“Doctor, every time we’ve tried to go there, we end up somewhere else.” Sarah Jane said.

“Oh, Sarah, please. Pretty please.” The Doctor tried, “We could go for a swim and have a little picnic. You could even sunbathe for a bit. Think about all the fun we could have. I could make sure we go when no one else is there.” The Doctor grabbed her hand and rubbed it softly, “Come on, Sarah Jane, please.”

“Oh, alright.” Sarah Jane rolled her eyes before laughing.

“Yes! Yes!” The Doctor shot up onto his feet as he jumped up and down.

“Under one condition.”

“What?”

“That we get some rest tonight and go tomorrow. We are not having one of your spontaneous midnight journeys again, especially after today.”

“Your wish is my command.” The Doctor said before holding his hand out. She took it as he helped her up, “Let’s get to bed.”


	7. Crash Landing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The TARDIS receives a distress signal.

The Doctor walked around the console as he controlled the TARDIS. He was deep in his thoughts as he walked around the console when Sarah Jane came into the console room. She held her mobile in her hand as she tucked her hair behind her ear with her other hand. The Doctor smiled when he saw her coming in, noticing she was dressed in a white polo shirt tucked into her high waisted jeans with combat boots on her feet. Sarah Jane was quite tanned from their trip to Florana and her white polo shirt enhanced that. She grinned when she saw him, walking down to meet him.

“Luke was telling me that K-9 and Mr. Smith have been arguing.” Sarah Jane chuckled, “Apparently Clyde had to drag K-9 out of the attic.”

“Oh dear. K-9 can be very temperamental.” The Doctor laughed, “You know what alien technology can be like.”

On command, there were a few beeps from the monitor.

“Oh, I didn’t mean you.” The Doctor stroked the console, “I didn’t mean you. How is Luke?”

“He’s good. Probably enjoying me being away from home.” Sarah Jane laughed.

“We should get back soon, we could go for a little day out.” The Doctor replied, “We could go see Jareth on Mars or the Andersons. I’m sure they would love to meet the kids.”

“If we get Clyde and Rani ungrounded by the Judoon then it might be good.” Sarah Jane chuckled, “We could always just have a day out to the pictures or go for dinner.” Sarah Jane walked closer to him, leaning on the console, “Unless that would ruin your alien streetcred.”

“I would love that.” The Doctor stepped forward with a grin.

Sarah Jane chuckled as she stood on her tiptoes, kissing his lips softly. They kissed for a couple of seconds but suddenly, they stumbled slightly as they broke it off.

“Right, right.” The Doctor went up to the console, “Honestly, you’re in a right mood today.”

Suddenly, the TARDIS shook more. The two stumbled as the Doctor got back to the monitor.

“Something’s hooked onto the TARDIS. They’re sending a distress call.” The Doctor said, now pressing buttons and pulling levers.

“Do you know what it is?” Sarah Jane asked.

“No. Prepare yourself, this is gonna be a bumpy ride.” The Doctor said.

The Doctor tried to control the TARDIS the best he could but he struggled. Sarah Jane held onto the console, keeping close to the Doctor. The Doctor tried his best to keep an eye on the monitor but it wasn’t clear where they were going to land.

Finally, when the TARDIS did land, it landed with a thump. Sarah Jane and the Doctor let go of the console as they then fell on top of each other. Sarah Jane sat up as she looked down to the Doctor below her. The two started to laugh, Sarah Jane resting her head on his chest as they laughed.

“Are you hurt?” The Doctor asked.

“No, are you?” Sarah Jane replied.

“No.” The Doctor replied. He got up before helping Sarah Jane up from the ground as they rushed to the monitor, “Lundara? Oh, I haven’t been here in years. Sarah, Lundara is beautiful. That is somewhere that I planned to take you but never happened.”

“Well, isn’t that just perfect timing?” Sarah Jane grinned.

“Come on.” The Doctor took her hand.

The two grabbed their coats, the Doctor grabbing his usual brown trench coat and Sarah Jane grabbing a navy blue corduroy jacket. They stepped out of the TARDIS and both of their breaths were taken away.

They were in a huge meadow of what looked like daisies. The sky was a lilac colour with three suns in the sky. In the distance, there was a huge palace with green roofs (For some reason, Sarah Jane could only compare it to the planet Naboo from Star Wars after watching it with Luke two weeks prior). There were large mountains around the palace and the breeze blew softly as the daisies swayed.

“What do you think?” The Doctor said softly, his hands in his pockets.

“It’s beautiful.” Sarah Jane smiled, “So beautiful.”

“This planet is completely deserted. There’s been no one here for over, ooh, three hundred years now.” The Doctor explained.

“Seriously? That means we’re the only people here?” Sarah Jane looked up to him.

“Yeah. Well, us and whoever sent the distress call.” The Doctor replied.

“Oh yeah.”

“In fact, we better find them.”

The Doctor was about to walk away when Sarah Jane grabbed his arm.

“When we’re done with all this distress call business, can we have a look around?” Sarah Jane asked, “Make a day of it.”

“I thought you would never ask.” The Doctor chuckled. Sarah Jane laughed, “Of course we can. As soon as we get the chance.” The Doctor grinned as he tapped her nose gently.

“Hello?” They heard a voice behind them, “Hello?”

The Doctor and Sarah Jane walked around the TARDIS to see a male blue humanoid insectoid walking towards them. He wore grey overalls with what seemed to be his name on his breast but they couldn’t read what it said from afar. His overalls were dirty, most likely an oil of some sort. 

“Hello!” The Doctor waved to him.

“Hello! Are you who we sent the distress call to?” The alien man asked.

“Yes, I think so.” The Doctor replied, “I’m the Doctor, this is Sarah Jane.”

“I’m Chantor. Nice to meet you both.” The alien shook their hands.

“Nice to meet you too.” Sarah Jane smiled.

“I don’t mean to pry, Chantor, but you’re a Malmooth, aren’t you?” The Doctor asked.

“Yes, I am.” Chantor nodded, “You’re going to ask why I don’t say ‘Chan’ and ‘Tor’ before each sentence, aren’t you?”

“Yes, I am.”

“I didn’t grow up on Malcassairo. We went to New Earth when I was very young. I grew up with the customs there.”

“Of course.”

“Have you met other Malmooths?”

“Only one. Chantho, lovely girl.” The Doctor nodded as he thought about Chantho. He smiled as he looked up to Chantor, “So what’s the problem?”

“Well, we were just leaving the planet Vithion were we had been taking samples to create new medicines and we had some trouble with the diagnostics but I managed to get everything sorted or at least I thought.” Chantor explained, “We then entered space and we were almost home when one of the engines started to pack in. We have no clue what happened. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“And this hasn’t before?” The Doctor asked.

“No.” Chantor replied, “That why we sent the distress call, we knew we were going to crash so we needed some sort of help to at least crash safely.”

“Let’s go have a look.”

The three headed towards the crashed spaceship that was behind the TARDIS a couple of yards away. The spaceship was still pretty much intact but they probably wouldn’t be able to fly it again. As they were brought on board, Chantor led the Doctor and Sarah Jane to the main console room. They were met with three more people, two human women and man. The three turned when they saw Chantor enter with Sarah Jane and the Doctor.

“Oh, hello.” One woman walked around the main control panel, “You must be who we sent the distress call to.”

“Yes, I’m the Doctor, this is Sarah Jane.” The Doctor introduced himself and Sarah Jane as they shook the woman’s hands.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Maya.” Maya introduced herself. Maya was a black girl who was quite tall and wore a white vest top and overalls on her bottom that were tied at her waist. Her hair was tied back in a low ponytail, her natural curls flowing down her back.

“And you.” The Doctor grinned.

“Hello. I’m Avni.” Avni went to shake their hands. Avni was a Southern Asian girl who reminded Sarah Jane of a slightly older Rani. Avni wore a white lab coat and black shirt and black trousers with her hair clasped back.

“And I’m Zach.” Zach stood forward, also going to shake their hands. Zach was a Caucasian man who had dark brown hair in a curtain style. He wore a black t-shirt with green cargo trousers, a watch on his wrist.

“Where’s Tatum?” Chantor asked as he crossed his arms.

“Not sure.” Zach shrugged, “Think he’s out the back.”

“I’m assuming you haven’t met my sister yet.” Avni said to the Doctor and Sarah Jane.

“Um, no. No, we haven’t.” Sarah Jane replied.

“Looking for Tatum and you haven’t even thought about your wife yet?” Avni said with a fake gasp as she tapped Chantor’s shoulder.

“Oh ha-ha.” Chantor rolled his eyes, “Remember that Tatum is our pilot.”

“Oh, who’s this?” Another woman appeared. It was clear this was Avni’s sister and she too was dressed in a lab coat. She walked in with her arms crossed, “Is this who we sent the distress call to?”

“Yes, this is Sarah Jane and this is the Doctor.” Chantor introduced before putting his around the woman, “This is my lovely wife, Amira.”

“Nice to meet you.” Amira held her hand to them.

“Nice to meet you too.” The Doctor grinned as he shook her hand.

“Do you know where Tatum is?” Chantor asked his wife.

“No, I don’t. I thought he was through here with you?” Amira replied.

“Nope.” Chantor shook his head, “Well, the Doctor and Sarah Jane will meet him when he appears. I better take you both through to the engine room and show you the issue.”

“Yes, of course.” The Doctor nodded, “Lead the way.”

Chantor nodded as he kissed Amira’s cheek before him, Maya and Zach led Sarah Jane and the Doctor to the engine room. As they walked, Sarah Jane whispered to the Doctor.

“They’re married.” She said quietly with a little shock.

“It’s actually quite common for couples to be on shuttles together. I’ve met many.” The Doctor replied.

“No, I don’t mean that. Amira’s human and Chantor’s…”

“Malmooth?”

“Yeah.”

“What’s so strange about that?”

“He’s an alien.”

“You’re with an alien.” The Doctor raised his brow, a small smirk as he nudged her.

“It’s not the same. You look human, Chantor doesn’t.” Sarah Jane replied.

“It’s not that weird. I once met a couple where the man was Catkind and the woman was human. They recently had a few kittens when I just met them.” The Doctor explained, “And I don’t look human,” He tapped her nose, “You look Time Lord. Or more Time Lady.”

Sarah Jane just rolled her eyes with a chuckle. They soon reached the engine room. It was very hot in there and Sarah Jane had to take her jacket off when they entered.

“This is the engine that broke down.” Chantor pointed.

The engine was large and it had a little control pad on it’s side for the diagnostics. The pad flashed red and when the Doctor approached it, he frowned. He took off his trench coat and chucked it to Zach who was shocked by it. The Doctor took out his reading glasses, putting them on as he started to investigate.

“Ooh. That is strange.” The Doctor said.

“What is it?” Sarah Jane asked.

“Look,” He brought her over as he pointed to the pad, “It’s saying the engine doesn’t exist.”

“But it does?” Sarah Jane frowned.

“Exactly.” The Doctor said. He was about to look around for some sort of clue when Zach interrupted him.

“Tatum?” Zach announced their pilot.

“Oh, there you are.” Chantor turned, “We were all wondering where you were.”

“I was just sending out calls for a rescue crew. It was easier to get a hold of them now that we’ve landed.” Tatum walked in. He was a caucasian man who was tall and had blonde hair. He wore a vest top and black cargo trousers, carrying a dark green bomber jacket by his side. He then noticed the Doctor and Sarah Jane, “Oh hello. Tatum Clark, the pilot.”

“I’m the Doctor, also the pilot.” The Doctor shook his hand, “This is Sarah Jane Smith, my co-pilot.”

“Enchanté.” Tatum winked as he took Sarah Jane’s hand, kissing her knuckles softly. Sarah Jane chuckled nervously whilst the Doctor watched, jealousy building in him.

“Anyway!” The Doctor moved to where Sarah Jane was standing and leaned on a pillar so he could break the contact between Sarah Jane and Tatum, “What happened then? Do we have any idea of how the engine could totally cease to exist when it is right in front of us?”

“No idea.” Tatum shook his head, “We were meant to be going home and it just went.”

The Doctor started looking around in the machinery, taking out his sonic screwdriver. Chantor and Maya joined him as they looked for the source.

“I say, why don’t we go back to the control room?” Tatum said as he put his arm around Sarah Jane, “They clearly don’t need us in here.”

Sarah Jane said nothing as she shrugged Tatum off and headed back over to the Doctor.

“Do you need any help?” Sarah Jane asked quietly.

“I think I’m alright.” The Doctor replied as he looked at some cables. He looked up to Sarah Jane who wore a slightly worried look, “I’ll be fine.”

“Are you sure?” Sarah Jane asked. She couldn’t help but worry about him more than she did, especially after Rome. There was no known threat at this moment in time but she couldn’t be so sure.

“You know me, Sarah.” The Doctor stood, taking off his glasses, “I’ll be careful.”

“That’s a lie if I ever heard one.”

“You know what I mean.”

“Doctor.”

“I’ll be fine.” He rested his hands on her upper arms, “You don’t need to worry about me. Besides, I’m sure you’ll be given a lovely tour of the ship whilst you’re at it, won’t she?”

“Oh yes. A personal tour for our guest.” Tatum nodded.

“See? And I’m sure Zach will look after you. Won’t you, Zach?” The Doctor gestured to Zach, ignoring Tatum and the way he was acting with Sarah Jane.

“Uh, yeah. Yeah, of course.” Zach nodded. 

“See? In perfectly capable hands.” The Doctor grinned.

“That’s not what I’m worried about.” Sarah Jane crossed her arms.

“Well, it’s something to take your mind off of it.” The Doctor said before he took out Martha Jones’ phone that she left on the TARDIS, shaking it in his hand, “Call me if you need to.”

Sarah Jane smiled at him. She looked back to Zach, walking with him. Tatum watched as the two walked out with a slight dirty look on his face before following after them. The Doctor frowned, wondering what Tatum’s problem was.

“Don’t mind him,” Chantor said, “He likes to think of himself as a bit of a womaniser.” 

“Yeah, any new female flesh and he’s getting out his best suit.” Maya laughed.

“Well, he’ll have a hard time with her.” The Doctor replied.

\- - -

“So where are you from then?” Zach asked as they walked through the corridors of the spaceship.

“Well, me and the Doctor are actually time travellers.” Sarah Jane explained.

“Really?” Zach’s brows raised, “You’re having me on.”

“Not at all.” Sarah Jane giggled, “We’re from the year 2009 and still on the original Earth.”

“Oh my God. That’s… crazy. So have you been to loads of historical events?”

“Some. Major historical events are more the Doctor’s forté. We do travel through history a lot though.”

“Wow! That’s so amazing, isn’t it, Tatum?”

“Yeah. You can travel in space too, yeah?” Tatum asked.

“Yeah.” Sarah Jane nodded before chuckling, “The TARDIS can do it all.”

“Oh really? This shuttle can make its own food.” Tatum nodded as he leaned on the side.

Sarah Jane and Zach looked at one another before chuckling. It was clear Sarah Jane wasn’t that impressed and Zach could tell. She walked into the control room, Zach and Tatum behind her.

“Give it up, Tatum.” Zach said, “Besides, I think she’s with the Doctor.”

“Oh, come on, you can’t be serious.” Tatum rolled his eyes, “Look at him. Beautiful woman like that and she’s with him?”

“He’s not that bad.” Zach shrugged.

Tatum rolled his eyes, following after Sarah Jane.

“Shall we start this tour then?” Tatum grinned as he rubbed his hands together.

“I can take her around if you like.” Amira said.

“For crying out loud.” Tatum said under his breath before returning to his normal volume, “Yeah, of course. Why not?”

Amira led the way as Sarah Jane followed. They walked down the corridors as they spoke.

“So what exactly is the shuttle used for?” Sarah Jane asked.

“Well, we were taking samples from other planets for medicines. Me and my sister are scientists so we’ve been trying to find medicines that can cure anything.” Amira explained, “We’re currently working on a vaccine that practically wiped out the whole of New New York.”

“Ah right. It’s quite the family affair on this shuttle then?”

“Yeah. Luckily, Avni and Chantor get on very well. They’re like brother and sister so it helps when we’re stuck on this ship for a while.”

“How long were you on the other planet for?”

“A year.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah. A very long time. It’s good when we come home though, get more time to work on the actual development of the medicines. What about you?”

“Oh, we’re just travellers.” Sarah Jane replied, “Nothing too special.”

“It’s got to be something special.” Amira said, “Though I don’t know you, you have this look of splendour.”

Sarah Jane chuckled as she thought of her travellers with the Doctor. Amira then led her into the laboratory and showed her the plants they were working on. 

“This plant is called Fole and it is said to have healing remedies within. Thankfully, we don’t have to use a lot of it to produce the vaccinations.” Amira explained as she showed Sarah Jane the Clove-like plant, “This should be the last time we need to take it.”

“It’s beautiful.” Sarah Jane said as she looked at the plant, “How did the virus begin?”

“It was a mutation from a mood patch. Bliss, everyone in New New York was using them but then everyone got infected and died. There were hardly any survivors, only the few from down below.”

“Oh yeah, I got made to use one of them.” Sarah Jane replied.

“You were a part of the experiments?” Amira asked.

“Yeah, me and the Doctor, we got caught up in it a little bit.” Sarah Jane explained, “I felt vile afterwards. In fact, I think they gave me Bliss.”

“Probably, they were producing it when the experiments were going on and when a lot of the women escaped, they just decided to release it. The rest is history.” Amira shrugged.

Amira then took Sarah Jane around the rest of the shuttle. Amira went to take Sarah Jane to the cockpit. The windows in front of them were covered in mud and slightly cracked as it showed the beautiful view outside.

“This is Tatum’s chair and then this is Zach’s chair.” Amira pointed, “They sort of have their spaces in here.”

“Most men do.” Sarah Jane chuckled.

Sarah Jane looked around quietly. As she looked, her eyes went over Tatum’s things. At the controls, Sarah Jane noticed the instructions were in clear sheets. She picked them up as she read through them. As she flicked through, she was met with a clear sheet of the mood patches her and Amira had just been talking about. Sarah Jane frowned, looking at them.

“Are you meant to have these?” Sarah Jane asked. It was a fair question, it could have easily been used for testing to fight against the virus.

“No. Not at all. They’re contraband.” Amira shook her head, “Why are they even in here?”

Sarah Jane thought for a moment before walking out of the cockpit.

“Come on. I need to show the Doctor.”

\- - -

The Doctor walked around the engine room, inspecting the engine that had broken down. Chantor and Maya looked around the rest of the room, trying to find some sort of clue to what the issue was. There was nothing to point towards the issue and they all found it strange that this had happened.

“I don’t understand how this could have happened.” Maya said, “We were fine taking off but as soon as we got closer to home, everything went pear shaped. It just didn’t make sense.”

“There’s something fishy going on.” Chantor said as he crossed his arms.

“You think?” Maya asked.

“Yes. It just seems too convenient.” Chantor replied, “What do you think, Doctor? Are you sensing something strange going on?”  
“Chantor, here’s your answer right here.” The Doctor simply said from behind the broken down engine.

Chantor and Maya frowned at each other before walking around to meet the Doctor. They walked around as they noticed the Doctor holding something. He stepped back to show them the wires he held in his hand. They had been cut and the Doctor looked to Chantor and Maya who were both shocked.

“That’s no accident, is it?” Maya asked, “Someone cut that themselves.”

“Uh huh. We just need to figure out who.” The Doctor stood but suddenly, he felt a gun being pressed against the back of his head.

“Turn around slowly.”

The three turned and they were met with Tatum who held the blaster at the Doctor’s head. The three raised their hands up in surrender as they stepped back.

“I’m guessing you’re our answer then? The person who cut the engine wires?” The Doctor asked.

“Gold star for you, Doctor. You’ve clicked on just in the nick of time.” Tatum smiled “Oh, Chantor and Maya, how could you be so slow?”  
“Leave them alone.” The Doctor said, “Why are you doing this? Why would you want to sabotage the shuttle? Murder, is that it?”

“Yes and no. I got onto this shuttle when I found out it was for testing, creating medicines. Well, how could I resist? Especially when I know so much about the vaccines and what people are putting into them. How we are being poisoned by our government.” Tatum said.

“I don’t understand.” Maya frowned.

“Well, you wouldn’t, would you? You’re just a silly young girl who plays with spanners and screwdrivers all day. It’s the only thing you’re good at.” Tatum shrugged.

“Don’t listen to him, Maya. Tatum, leave her alone and what do you mean you’re being poisoned by the government?” The Doctor asked.

“The airborne virus caused by the mood patches, well, supposedly. Those mood patches were the safest things on our planet and the government wanted to take them away even though their lives depended on them. So that’s what they did, they produced a manmade virus so they could kill everyone off, including themselves so they didn’t have anyone to trace back to and doctors created that vaccine.” Tatum explained, “But the vaccine caused more bad than good, didn’t it? So many more died. Millions and now they want to produce more of it.”  
“But that was what we were told at first. We had no clue everyone in the tops of New New York died until two years later.” Chantor said, “None of the information we got was clear. Besides, the vaccinations have helped, New New York is thriving. You know that, Tatum.”

“Do you know how many people died? You have know idea of the numbers, they’re in the thousands! And your wife and sister-in-law contributed to that!” Tatum pointed.

“If you’ve hurt them…” Chantor was ready to attack him but the Doctor and Maya stopped him, pulling him back.

“Don’t, Chantor!” The Doctor said before he looked back to Tatum, “What do you want? Why did you cut the wires?” 

“I was going to kill everyone on board. It would come out in the news that we all died, I would have done my duty for the people. But I was stopped, wasn’t I? Zach sent the distress call and we ended up here. With you, Doctor.” Tatum pointed his gun right at the Doctor.

“Doctor! Doctor!” They all heard Sarah Jane approaching. The Doctor wanted to shout, telling her to go but he had no idea what Tatum would do. Sarah Jane then walked in, holding a sheet of mood patches. When she walked in, Sarah Jane frowned, unsure by what was going on as Amira followed her in.

“Tatum, what’s going on?” Amira asked.

“Oh, hello.” Tatum turned to the two women, pointing the gun to them, “Just in time.”

“Both of you go.” The Doctor said, “Go to the TARDIS, Sarah Jane, stay there with them.”  
“I don’t think so! I’m not leaving you behind.” Sarah Jane said before turning to Amira, “You go, get Avni and Zach. The TARDIS outside, it’s just a blue box.” She took out her TARDIS key, “Take this, it doesn’t look like it will fit into the lock but it will, okay?”

“I can’t leave Chantor and Maya, Sarah Jane. Just as much as you can’t leave the Doctor.” Amira said, her eyes filling up.

“I promise I’ll get them out. I promise.” Sarah Jane said, “I’m not leaving here until I get them out alive.”

Amira gave Chantor one last look as he nodded to her. Amira just nodded back, clutching the key in her hand. When Sarah Jane turned back to them, she held up her hands in surrender.

“I told you to go.” The Doctor said.

“And I told you I’m saying.” Sarah Jane replied.

“I’m glad you’re staying, Sarah Jane.” Tatum grinned, “It’ll be nice for you to see my plan. It’ll also be nice for you to see me kill everyone.” 

“Leave her alone.” The Doctor said.

“Oh come now, Doctor. Do you really think I would hurt her?” Tatum said as he stayed facing Sarah Jane. He lifted his free hand, stroking her hair, “I might just stay on this planet with her. We could take that blue box for a ride, I heard it travels in time. What do you say, Sarah Jane? I think it would be a nice reward for getting rid of this lot.”

“Go to hell.” Sarah Jane said as she stepped back so he couldn’t touch her.

“Oh, that’s a shame.” Tatum said with fake disappointment before he grabbed Sarah Jane’s wrist. He pulled her forward, holding her in front of him as he held the gun to her temple. He now faced the Doctor, Maya and Chantor as he spoke to Sarah Jane, “We could have been so good together.”

“Let her go!” The Doctor stepped forward, ready to attack.  
“Move any closer and I’ll kill her.” Tatum said before he winked, “Don’t think I wouldn’t.”

“Help is coming soon.” Chantor said, “They’ll stop you from doing this.”

“I don’t think so.” Tatum shook his head, “I didn’t call for them.”

“What? What were you doing when you said you called for them?” Maya asked.

“I started the self-destruct countdown. We’ve probably got about three minutes left.” Tatum replied.

“Tatum, turn it off now. We can talk about this.” The Doctor tried, “Or at least let us go. I can take you home. You don’t need to do this.”  
“This is my life’s work, Doctor. I won’t let you ruin it. In fact, I think it’s time you died.” Tatum pointed his gun to the Doctor.

Sarah Jane knew he was going to shoot the Doctor and there was not a chance she was letting that happen. She quickly grabbed his arm, pulling his arm down quickly. Her grip on Tatum’s arm made him drop the gun and as she let go off him, Tatum was about to punch her. Sarah Jane ducked as she turned before elbowing him in the face. Tatum fell to the ground, now knocked out cold.

“We need to handcuff him in case he wakes up.” Sarah Jane said.

“I have some wire.” Maya went into her pockets.

“Perfect! Get him cuffed to that pipe.” Sarah Jane pointed, “Doctor, come on. We need to stop the detonation.” Sarah Jane was about to leave when she turned back to the Doctor who seemed to be stuck to his spot, his mouth slightly open with a wide-eyed look, “Doctor!”

“Yes! Sorry, yes! Let’s go.” The Doctor shook his head as he followed behind her.

They headed to the control room where the final two minute countdown had begun. The two ran up to the controls, trying to look for something that could stop it.

“I can’t find anything to stop this.” Sarah Jane said as she looked at the controls, “Surely, there’s some sort of instructions to stop it.”

“It’s a space shuttle, Sarah. If they are going to self-destruct, there’s no going back.” The Doctor looked at one of the monitors.

“Oh great. It’s nice to see that they prepared themselves for the event of someone trying to kill the crew.” Sarah Jane rolled her eyes.

“We need to cut some wires.” The Doctor said as he got down onto the floor, sonicking a panel and removed it.

“What?!” Sarah Jane rushed over to him as she stood over him.

“Pass me those pliers.” The Doctor pointed.

Sarah Jane grabbed the pliers and handed them to the Doctor quickly. The Doctor got a hold of the wires, holding them together. He gave Sarah Jane one last look before cutting into them. Finally, he cut them.

“A minute until self-destruct.” The computer announced.

“No, no, no.” The Doctor shot up as he looked at the large monitor, his fingers running through his hair. The two rushed up to the controls, now trying to press the buttons on the panel.

“There has to be something.” Sarah Jane said, “There has to be a way we can stop this.”

“You should have left, Sarah.” The Doctor said, “You could have got Chantor and Maya out. You all would have been safe.”

“Don’t start this now. You know I couldn’t do that.” Sarah Jane replied as she took out her sonic lipstick.

“Yes, you could. The TARDIS could have taken you all home, you wouldn’t need to worry about me.” The Doctor turned to her.

“I worry about you all the time! You really think I would leave you to die? You clearly don’t know me that well to think that.” Sarah Jane snapped.

“I want what’s best for you, Sarah Jane. I’m not having you die at my hands.” The Doctor stepped forward to her.

“I’m not having you die on your own!” Sarah Jane turned back to him, her eyes misting over. As she turned to him, Maya and Chantor ran in and started the mayday calls, “I love you too much to not do that.”  
“You know the stakes, Sarah. I need to keep you safe.” The Doctor frowned, ignoring the flutter of his hearts when she told him she loved him.

Sarah Jane said nothing as she cupped his face and kissed him. They kissed passionately for a couple of seconds as the Doctor took hold of her waist. Sarah Jane then broke it off, looking up to him as a single tear fell down her cheek.

“You would stay if I told you to go.” Sarah Jane simply said.

“Self-destruct in five, four, three…” The computer announced.

Sarah Jane and the Doctor both pointed their sonic devices to the monitor, activating them. The monitor cracked as the controls sparked. Sarah Jane squealed as she and the Doctor moved away.

“Self-destruct deactivated.” The computer announced.

Sarah Jane and the Doctor sighed a collective sigh of relief as Maya and Chantor cheered, hugging one another as they jumped up and down. Sarah Jane and the Doctor looked to one another, unsure of what to say in that moment. They then smiled at each other, hugging each other tightly. They were so happy to be alive.

The four then went out to the TARDIS. Sarah Jane and the Doctor watched as the others all greeted each other, all so happy to be alive and have each other. They were also thankful for what the Doctor and Sarah Jane had done for them. The rescue team soon arrived on the planet. They all watched as they got Tatum first. He had a small bruise on his forehead from where Sarah Jane had elbowed him and he looked to them, clear he was angry that his plan was ruined. The crew then said their goodbyes to Sarah Jane and the Doctor. The rescue crew soon left, the Doctor and Sarah Jane waving them off. The two stood for a minute or so in silence, unsure of what to say to each other. Finally, the Doctor spoke as he put his hands in his pockets.

“I’m sorry.” The Doctor said softly as he looked at the daisy-like flowers surrounding them.

“What for?” Sarah Jane looked up to him.

“For what I said. I just get so worried about you and the thought of me causing your death when I… I wouldn’t be able to live with myself. There’s no way. The truth is, Sarah, I need someone. Someone to stop me, someone to be there for me. And that’s you. You’re that someone and I know you can’t travel with me for long but… for the time being, you have made me so much better and like you said in Rome, without you, I would be dead.” The Doctor looked at her. His stomach felt like it was in knots. He hated what he had said to Sarah Jane. The truth was that he loved her more than anything and the idea of him potentially causing her death crushed him. That’s why he wanted her to go, “I just want you to be safe.”

“No, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have to make you choose. I just don’t want you to be on your own.” Sarah Jane replied. She looked down to her feet before back up to him, “I understand why you want me to go, I do.”

“But I don’t. Not really. I just want you to be safe. Like you said, I wouldn’t leave you.” The Doctor explained.

Sarah Jane looked around herself, unsure of what to say.

“Can I ask you something?”

“What?”

“Was that Venusian Aikido you used on Tatum?”

Sarah Jane started to laugh. She tucked her hair behind her ear as she bowed her head before looking back up to him.

“Yeah. Yeah, it was.” Sarah Jane nodded, “You did teach me a lot, Doctor. I might as well put it to good use.”

“That’s my Sarah Jane.” The Doctor laughed. He then looked around himself and grinned to himself. He noticed the scenery and remembered how Sarah Jane asked for a look around some of the abandoned planet, Lundara. He looked back to her as he held out his hand, wiggling his fingers a little, “Come on, let’s make a day of it.”

Sarah Jane grinned up to him as she intertwined her fingers in his. The two walked a little but Sarah Jane stopped them as she looked back to the shuttle.

“What is it?” The Doctor asked.

“Is there not a way that it could be moved? Surely that would be bad for the environment.” Sarah Jane frowned.

“You never know,” The Doctor said quietly, “That could become a lovely ruin.”

Sarah Jane looked back up to him and grinned. The two continued to walk, Sarah Jane resting her other hand on the Doctor’s forearm and laughed. She rested her head on his shoulder as she kept close to him, heading towards the abandoned palace.


	8. Code Red

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke calls Sarah Jane, asking her to come home immediately.

Sarah Jane and the Doctor laughed as they ran into the TARDIS. They headed up to the console, ready to go to the next place. They had just been in Victorian London where they had just had a close encounter with Queen Victoria who was not enamoured to see the Doctor to say the least. As the Doctor went up to the console and started to man the controls, Sarah Jane got a phone call.

“Hi Luke!” Sarah Jane grinned as she answered the call.

The Doctor smiled as he realised it was Luke she was on the phone to. He continued to press a couple of buttons when he noticed Sarah Jane had become very silent. Her back was to him as she stayed on the call. The Doctor frowned as he approached her slowly. Finally, she put the phone down, holding it in her hands.

“Sarah?” The Doctor said softly, his hand on the slope of her back, “Sarah, what’s wrong? What did he say?”

Sarah Jane shook out of her daydream as she looked up to him slowly. Finally, when she faced him, the Doctor noticed the look of fear in her eyes.

“We need to go home.”

\- - -

Luke sat on the steps of the attic as he rubbed his hands together. Clyde sat near the stained glass window, doodling some of the alien artifacts in the attic in his notepad to calm himself. Rani leaned on one of Mr. Smith’s arms, biting her nails as she watched K-9 in the middle of the room. Finally, the TARDIS started to materialise. The three teens shot up from where they were as they all went to stand in front of Mr. Smith. When the TARDIS landed, the door swung open and Sarah Jane came out with a worried expression, the Doctor following after her with a similar look.

“What’s happened?” Sarah Jane came down the steps.

The kids were too shocked by what Sarah Jane wore to say anything. She wore a navy blue long sleeved Victorian dress and heeled lace up boots. The dress was definitely more practical than extravagant. Another thing that shocked the kids was that Sarah Jane’s hair was a lot longer and curlier than when she had left. Her brown curly hair travelled down her back, some strands pinned back whilst other wispy curls framed her face.

“What is it?” Sarah Jane frowned. She then looked down to her clothes and realised what they were looking at, “Oh, we had just been to 1889.”

“How long have you been away?” Clyde asked.

“What do you mean? I’ve been away for two weeks.” Sarah Jane replied.

“But... your hair?” Luke pointed.

“Oh. It’s a clip-in.” Sarah Jane unclipped the Victorian extensions as she held it in her hands, “Victorians liked long hair. Anyway, what’s happened?”

“It’s the Sontarans.” Luke said, “They sent a message to UNIT which Mr. Smith was able to access.”

“Mr. Smith, show us the message.” Sarah Jane stepped forward.

“Certainly, Sarah Jane.” Mr. Smith replied.

Mr. Smith showed the clip of the masked Sontaran. It began, silence falling over the attic.

“This is General Unid of the Eleventh Sontaran Battle Fleet. A year ago, our brothers came to Earth but they were killed. Our plans were foiled by the Doctor and UNIT.” The Sontaran on the screen said. When the Doctor was mentioned, Sarah Jane took the Doctor’s hand which didn’t go unnoticed by Rani, “We have now declared war on Earth. Prepare to bow down to the almighty Sontarans. Even you, Doctor.”

The video then finished. Sarah Jane looked up to the Doctor who just continued to look at Mr. Smith. Rani watched the two and knew there was something going between them. It was so obvious.

“When did you receive this, Mr. Smith?” Sarah Jane turned back.

“I received the video yesterday from Captain Jack from Torchwood.” Mr. Smith replied.

“Right.” Sarah Jane nodded before clearing her throat, itching the back of her head, “You haven’t been in touch with UNIT, have you?”

“No. We wanted to wait for you two.” Luke said.

Suddenly, they heard the attic door open and there stood Captain Jack Harkness. Sarah Jane’s eyes widened whilst the Doctor grinned as they saw him.

“Are you watching that spud again?” Jack asked as he fiddled with his watch before looking up and noticing the TARDIS. He frowned before he looked down to see Sarah Jane and the Doctor, “Well, well. You two are finally here.”

“Hallway. Now.” Sarah Jane walked up the steps, guiding Jack out to the hall.

Jack frowned but was guided out, Sarah Jane shut the door behind them. They now stood outside the attic.

“Nice dress, Sarah Jane. You do suit period clothing.” Jack grinned as he checked her out.

“Just shut up a minute.” Sarah Jane hushed him, “What are you doing here?”

“What do you mean?” Jack asked.

“You know our rule.”

“Luke called me.”

“Under no circumstances are you meant to be here. If we meet, it is not here.”

“I had to come, your son asked me.”

“What part of ‘under no circumstances’ do you not understand?”

“Not even when you call, Miss Smith?” Jack stepped forward with a smirk.

“Not here.” Sarah Jane huffed.

“Ohhh. I see how it is.” Jack grinned, “You’re with the Doctor, aren’t you? Why am I not surprised?”

“Jack, please.” Sarah Jane shook her head.

“Oh come on, Sarah Jane. It’s so clear.” Jack replied, “I’m not surprised actually, he mentioned you quite a bit, you know? He seemed quite besotted with you.”

“That’s not important right now, we don’t need to scream it from the rooftops.” Sarah Jane frowned, “What did he say?”

“Are you two alright?” The Doctor left the attic and shut the door behind him.

“Doctor!”’Jack grinned as he went to hug the Doctor. The two men greeted each other with open arms as Sarah Jane rolled her eyes, crossing her arms, “Perfectly fine. What about you two? You both look quite tanned, you’ve clearly been having fun.”

“Yeah, we’ve had a great time, eh, Sarah?”’The Doctor put his arm around her as he brought her close.

“Yes, it’s been lovely.” Sarah Jane nodded as she looked at the Doctor. She softened from her angry demeanour when she looked at the Doctor and smiled.

The door suddenly opened as Clyde popped his head out.

“Jack, could you come through a minute?” Clyde asked.

“Certainly.” Jack went into the attic, closing the door behind him.

“What was that about?” The Doctor asked.

“What do you mean?” Sarah Jane looked up to him.

“With Jack. Rushing him out here.” The Doctor said.

“Oh, it was nothing.” Sarah Jane shook her head as she crossed her arms.

“Are you sure?” The Doctor asked, “Have you and him…?”

“You’re not jealous, are you?” Sarah Jane raised a brow. 

“No. Not at all.” The Doctor shook his head with a frown, “Jealous? Me? Never.”

Sarah Jane said nothing as she tilted her head slightly, raising her brows more as she waited for an answer.

“What? I’m not!” The Doctor replied.

Sarah Jane was silent. The same expression on her face.

“You weren’t with him, were you?” The Doctor asked.

“There it is.” Sarah Jane laughed as she patted his shoulder, “I’m off to have a shower. It’s very sweaty work running through Buckingham Palace.”

“Were you though?” The Doctor asked, following her down the stairs to the second floor of her home.

“Not like how we’ve been.” Sarah Jane turned to him.

“Then how?” The Doctor asked as he came down the steps, now face to face with her. He genuinely was now very confused.

Sarah Jane said nothing as she looked up to him. She could feel the heat crawling up her face, knowing her cheeks were bright red right now. She decided to take it into her stride, a smirk appearing across her lips. The Doctor watched as she walked into her bedroom, giving him one last look as she still wore her smirk. When the door closed, the penny finally dropped.

“Oh.” The Doctor said softly. He then thought about it more. His eyes widened, “Ohhh!”

\- - -

Rani walked into the kitchen as she held her empty mug. Sarah Jane was at the sink, now wearing a light green cardigan with bell sleeves and an ivory top underneath, jeans and a pair of trainers on her feet. Her hair was still a little wet, her natural curls forming slowly. Sarah Jane turned when she heard the young girl and smiled.

“You alright?” Sarah Jane asked as she filled the kettle.

“Yeah.” Rani nodded, “How are you? How’s travelling been?”

“It’s been wonderful.” Sarah Jane smiled, “We had just been to this planet called Lundara and it was totally deserted. The Doctor said that there had been nobody there for over three hundred years and skies were lilac and it had three suns. We also went to Mars in 2095, that was the first place we went. We went to Rome as well, that was a little bit of a shambles.”

“Wow.” Rani chuckled, “Sounds brilliant! You should have taken some photos.”

Sarah Jane laughed with Rani as she started making tea. Rani watched, becoming quiet as she was in her thoughts.

“Sarah Jane?”

“Yeah?”

“I don’t mean to be rude but… are you and the Doctor together?”

Sarah Jane looked up to Rani as her eyes widened. She knew Rani always thought there was something more with her and the Doctor (That was something Rani definitely got from Gita). Sarah Jane wondered if she noticed anything but she couldn’t think of what she saw. 

“What do you mean?” Sarah Jane frowned, playing dumb slightly.

“I saw you take his hand when watching the Sontaran message.” Rani replied, “You seem so different since you’ve come back.”

“Different?”

“Yeah, I can’t describe it. You look different. Happier. A lot happier. You even dress differently.”

Sarah Jane looked down to her clothes before back up to Rani.

“I’ve been travelling in time and space, Rani.” Sarah Jane chuckled, “You’re dressing for anything.”

Rani giggled softly.

“What about the Doctor then?” Rani asked as she looked at him, “Are you with him? I don’t think you would have held his hand like that if you weren’t.”

Now, they were back home, Sarah Jane couldn’t help but feel that her and the Doctor’s relationship was a lot more complicated than when they were travelling. When they are travelling, it was easier to be fully a couple. Now she was back home, it was a reminder that they couldn’t continue like that forever. Sarah Jane knew he cared for her and though she did she think that sometimes maybe this was just convenience or she was just a way for him to heal after everything he had been through, she knew how she felt for him and she was thankful for everything he had given her in the past two weeks. Though those two weeks had felt like a lifetime. It was enough for her.

“It’s…” Sarah Jane went to begin but then the Doctor walked in.

“Oh, hello.” The Doctor grinned.

“Hiya.” Rani turned to the Time Lord with a smile. She then decided to wash out her mug, “No more tea for me, Sarah Jane. Thank you though. I’ll just head up to the attic.”

The Doctor smiled to Rani as she walked past and out of the kitchen. When she left, the Doctor turned to Sarah Jane who was now stirring the tea she had made. The Doctor moved closer to her.

“Are you alright?” He asked.

“Mhm.” Sarah Jane nodded. She then sighed softly, “Rani asked if we were together.”

“And did you tell her?” The Doctor asked.

“Well, I was going to try and explain but then you appeared.” Sarah Jane looked up to him, making him chuckle. She turned to him, crossing her arms, “She says I’m different when I’m with you. Do you think I’m different when I’m with you compared to when I’m home?”

“Dunno.” The Doctor shrugged, “I’ve never really thought about it.”

“Hm.” Sarah Jane hummed simply as she turned away to go to the sink.

The Doctor grabbed her hand, making Sarah Jane turn. She frowned as she looked at his slightly worried look.

“What’s wrong?” The Doctor asked quietly.

“Nothing. Nothing.” Sarah Jane shook her head as she went to walk away.

“Sarah.” He stopped her, still holding her hand, “You can tell me.”

Sarah Jane looked into his warm brown eyes and sighed. She closed her eyes, bowing her head before looking back up to him.

“How are we going to stop this?” Sarah Jane asked.

“What do you mean?” The Doctor frowned.

“The Sontarans.” Sarah Jane said, “They’ve declared war on Earth. We are not prepared for this. And we’ve got the children too, this is so dangerous.”

“Sarah Jane, it’ll be okay.” The Doctor held her upper arms, “I know it doesn’t seem like it but it will. If UNIT are aware then we’ll be okay.”

“UNIT are a bit too trigger happy though, aren’t they?” Sarah Jane asked.

“Well,” The Doctor shrugged, “There is that.”

Sarah Jane giggled as she bowed her head. She then looked back up to him, studying his face.

“We’ll be alright, won’t we?” Sarah Jane asked. She looked deep into his eyes, waiting for the answer like her life depended on it.

“We’ll be okay.” The Doctor cupped her face.

The Doctor brought Sarah Jane’s lips to his, kissing her softly. He then brought her into his arms, holding her tightly. She wrapped her arms around his middle, listening to his heartbeats as she closed her eyes. The Doctor buried his nose into her hair, taking in her scent. The Doctor thought to himself about what Sarah Jane said. He wished he could reassure her whilst reassuring himself. He wished he could promise her but he couldn’t. In truth, the Doctor had no clue what to expect.

“Mum?”

The Doctor and Sarah Jane turned to see Luke at the door. They let go of one another as they turned to him. Luke wore a slightly confused look on his face as he looked to the couple. Though he didn’t know much about romantic relationships, there definitely was more than met the eye. Luke straightened up, clearing his throat as he remembered what he wanted to say.

“You need to see this.”

The three headed up to the attic. When they reached the attic, Mr. Smith was showing a news report. It was about sightings of spaceships in Earth’s skies. As they watched, they knew they had to do something soon.

“We need to go to UNIT.” The Doctor said.

“What?” Jack screwed his face up, “We can sort this out ourselves.”

“Yeah, I thought you didn’t like UNIT anyways.” Clyde added.

“This isn’t one Sontaran, Clyde, this is a whole battle fleet.” Sarah Jane said, “We can’t take any risks.” Sarah Jane walked over to the Doctor, “I’m coming with you.”

The Doctor simply nodded. He then looked to Jack who stood on the steps, his arms crossed.

“You coming?” The Doctor asked.

“I better. Make sure you two don’t get into trouble.” Jack replied.

“Like you’re the sensible one?” Sarah Jane raised a brow.

“Very funny, Miss Smith.” Jack said sarcastically.

“Can we come too?” Rani asked.

The three adults looked at the teens standing in front of Mr. Smith. Sarah Jane walked down the steps, bringing the three together.

“I can’t. I’m sorry but I can’t.” Sarah Jane apologised.

“Why not? You’re only going to see UNIT, we’re not going to be in trouble with the Judoon.” Clyde replied.

“We don’t know how big this is yet. I’m not risking your lives when I don’t know what we’re up against, not this time. Besides, if UNIT knew about Luke and Mr. Smith and what we do, it would be a disaster. I also can’t risk your parents finding out about this, they’ll never forgive me.” Sarah Jane explained before turning to Luke, “You have to understand that?”

“It’s okay, mum.” Luke nodded, “Do what you need to do.”

“I’m sorry.” Sarah Jane shook her head.

“It’s alright, Sarah Jane. We understand.” Clyde replied.

“Don’t worry about us.” Rani smiled, “There’s some things adults need to take care of.”

Sarah Jane chuckled. She then hugged the three teens, kissing her son’s head before leaving with the Doctor and Jack in the TARDIS.

\- - -

The TARDIS landed as the Doctor led the way. He opened the doors, Sarah Jane and Jack following behind. They stepped out to find themselves at UNIT HQ. The Doctor looked around, making sure this was the safest place for the TARDIS to be. The three soon headed towards the building. As they walked, they heard someone behind them shout;

“Doctor!”

The three turned to see a couple standing a few yards away. It was Martha and Mickey. The three laughed as they saw them now approaching, happy to see them.

“What are you doing here?” The Doctor asked as he greeted the two before letting Sarah Jane and Jack greet them.

“Waiting for you.” Martha laughed, “We knew you would come at some point. We didn’t know you two were going to show up though.” She hit Jack’s arm playfully, “You should have told us.”

“Believe me, it was as much a surprise for me as it was for you.” Jack laughed as they started to walk, “How have you been then? How’s married life?”

“What?” The Doctor frowned as he stopped in his tracks, “Married? You two?”

“Yeah, we got married three months ago.” Mickey grinned at Martha.

“Why did you not tell me?” The Doctor asked Sarah Jane.

“I thought you knew.” Sarah Jane chuckled, “Besides, we were very busy trying to stop Ice Warriors and Kuzuk.”

“Have you been travelling with him?” Martha asked as she pointed between the two.

“Uh, yeah. Only for two weeks.” Sarah Jane itched the back of her head.

“Yep! Just a quick getaway, eh, Sarah?” The Doctor also itched the back of his head before nudging her gently.

“Well, if you call running for your life a quick getaway.” Sarah Jane giggled.

They continued to walk, Sarah Jane and the Doctor leading as they talked with one another. Jack, Martha and Mickey walked together, a little bit behind the couple as they talked.

“They’re a couple, aren’t they?” Martha asked Jack.

“Oh yes.” Jack nodded.

“I knew it!” Mickey exclaimed, “When we met her, you could tell straight away that he was in love with her. Let’s just say Rose wasn’t best pleased about it.”

“I can imagine that actually!” Jack raised a brow.

“You know, they’re even starting to act like each other.” Martha said. She then smirked, nudging Jack, “That will be you kicked to the curb now.”

Jack turned to the couple as he walked backwards, making a ‘W’ sign with his fingers. They then followed after Sarah Jane and the Doctor as they entered the building. There was someone waiting for the Doctor and they were all taken to an operation room where they were met with Captain Magambo.

“Don’t salute.” The Doctor said as he walked in, “Hopefully I can only say that once today.”

“Doctor.” Captain Magambo nodded.

“Captain.” The Doctor grinned, “I assume you’ve met Martha and Mickey.”

“Yes, I have.” Captain Magambo nodded.

“Well, this is Captain Jack Harkness and this is Sarah Jane Smith.” The Doctor introduced, his hand on Sarah Jane’s back as he brought her forward.

“A pleasure to meet you both.” Captain Magambo shook their hands.

“Right,” The Doctor sat down at a chair in front of the large computers. He crossed his feet as he stretched out his legs and rested them on the table, “What’s happening?”

“We detected the Sontaran fleet entering the atmosphere at thirteen hundred hours. We think they’ll be here tomorrow.” Captain Magambo explained.

“Tomorrow?” Mickey said, “Why are they not here now that they're in the sky?”

“They’re waiting.” The Doctor replied as he sat forward as he watched the footage of the Sontaran fleet, “Waiting for the right moment.”

“Do you know where they’re going to land?” Martha asked.

“We have an inkling that they’ll land near the Atmos factory. It looks like they’re going in that direction anyways. Very slowly, of course.” Captain Magambo replied, “We will be there in the morning, Doctor. I suggest you be there for when Operation Moonlight begins.”

“Oh, don’t worry, Captain.” The Doctor stood, “There’s no stopping me.”

\- - -

Clyde and Rani had gone home and Luke was getting ready for bed. Jack was asleep in the spare room as Luke came down the stairs. He walked slowly, noticing Sarah Jane in the living room. She rested her head on her arm on the armrest of the couch, her feet underneath her. She watched the television quietly but her mind was on different things. Luke walked into the living room, tapping Sarah Jane’s shoulder gently.

“Mum?”

Sarah Jane turned to look at her son. She smiled up to him.

“Are you off to bed?” Sarah Jane asked.

“Yeah.” Luke nodded, “Are you alright, mum?”

“I’m fine.” Sarah Jane smiled, “Just tired.”

“That’s not it though.” Luke walked around the couch and joined her, “You can tell me, mum.”

“I’m just worried about tomorrow. It’s nothing. You should get to bed.” Sarah Jane tapped his knee.

“Why are you worried?” Luke asked, “The Doctor will stop them. We all will, we always stop them.”

“I know.” Sarah Jane nodded, “This is just bigger than I anticipated.”

Luke said nothing as he put his arm around her, resting his head against hers. Sarah Jane smiled, closing her eyes as she took his other hand. As she closed her eyes, Sarah Jane tried to push away her worries as she sat with her son. There was suddenly a soft knock at the door. Sarah Jane and Luke sat up as they turned to see the Doctor behind them. Luke knew this was his cue to leave them.

“I better head up.” Luke stood, “Night, mum.”

Luke kissed his mother’s cheek before heading out the room. He nodded to the Doctor as he left and went upstairs. The Doctor looked back to Sarah Jane as she faced forward once more.

“You’re still worried, aren’t you?” The Doctor asked as he walked in.

“Are you reading my mind?” Sarah Jane raised her brow.

“I don’t need to. I know you so well.” The Doctor smiled. He joined her on the couch, sitting forward as he clasped his hands together. The Doctor looked back to her, looking deep into her eyes.

Sarah Jane looked up to him. She pushed her hair out of her face before beginning to play with her fingers. She looked at the Doctor, studying his face as she thought about everything.

“How are you feeling?” The Doctor asked.

“I’ve got a headache.” Sarah Jane replied.

“You worry too much.” The Doctor said. He then turned to face her fully, “I could help.”

The Doctor brought his hands to Sarah Jane’s face, cupping her cheeks. They were cold against her skin. Sarah Jane studied his face, totally aware of what he wanted to do. She stopped him as she rested her hands over his.

“No.” Sarah Jane shook her head, “I can’t ask you to do that.”

“I can help, Sarah.” The Doctor raised his brows.

“I know you can.” Sarah Jane replied. She then brought his hands down to her lap, holding his hands in hers. She rubbed the back of his hands with her thumbs before she looked back up to him, “But not like this.”

“What would you like me to do?” The Doctor asked as he watched Sarah Jane look at their hands. She paused for a moment, just focusing on their hands. Finally, she lifted her head.

“Just be with me.” Sarah Jane looked deep into his eyes.

The Doctor brought her close to him as he sat back. Sarah Jane rested her head against his chest, wrapping her arms around his middle. The Doctor wrapped his arms around Sarah Jane, resting his cheek against the top of her head. Sarah Jane listened to his hearts, instantly feeling comforted by him. The Doctor felt the warmth of her body and he closed his eyes. The Doctor had no idea what tomorrow would bring but being with Sarah Jane now, it was better than anything in the universe.

\- - -

The TARDIS landed in the middle of a large field near the Atmos factory. The Doctor, Sarah Jane and Jack stepped out to the field, the TARDIS hidden behind military cars and carriers. As they walked out, they noticed the soldiers in position and the huge Sontaran ship which was imminently landing.

“Oh my God.” Jack said, “That’s huge.”

“You’re telling me.” The Doctor replied.

“Doctor!”

They turned to see Mickey standing near one of the carriers. He held a large gun and was dressed in all black. They all headed towards him.

“You two are in here.” Mickey gestured, “Jack, you’re with me.”

“You got a gun for me?” Jack raised his brow.

“You bet.” Mickey chuckled.

“Where’s Martha?” Sarah Jane asked.

“Medicentre around there.” Mickey pointed before turning to Jack, “We better get going.”

“Be careful.” The Doctor said as he put his hands in his pockets.

“Since when?” Mickey grinned.

The couple watched as the two men walked off. They turned to one another, about to say something but they were interrupted by Captain Magambo stepping out.

“Doctor. Miss Smith.” She called the two.

The Doctor and Sarah Jane followed her into the carrier which had an operation room inside. There were a few monitors, one of them showing outside as the Sontaran ship slowly landed. The ship then opened, helmeted Sontarans walking out, all armed.

“Take your positions.” Captain Magambo said into the microphone in front of her. The Doctor intertwined his fingers in Sarah Jane’s as they watched the monitors, “Operation Moonlight is go, go, go.”


	9. Operation Moonlight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The battle is raging on and the Doctor, Sarah Jane and the rest of their friends must find a way to stop the Sontarans.

Sarah Jane and the Doctor watched on the monitor as the soldiers fired towards the Sontarans. The Sontarans fired back, killing or injuring more soldiers than any Sontarans. It was a bloodbath practically and they knew they couldn’t standby and watch.

“Why are we here?” The Doctor turned to Captain Magambo, “What do you need us for?”

“We need you to get onto the Sontaran ship.” Captain Magambo explained, “We have reason to believe that they have missiles heading towards us. If we get onto the ship, we can stop them from destroying mankind.”

“Right.” The Doctor nodded, “Send me up there. Give me a teleport, I’ll go.”

Captain Magambo said nothing as she went off to go get a teleport for the Doctor. Sarah Jane and the Doctor stood with one another, still watching the monitor. Sarah Jane turned to him.

“I’m coming with you.” Sarah Jane looked up to him.

“Sarah.” The Doctor simply said as he raised his brow.

“Don’t ’Sarah’ me. I’m coming with you.” Sarah Jane insisted. The Doctor knew he wasn’t going to argue with her. 

“This is the teleport, Doctor.” Captain Magambo announced herself, handing it to the Doctor.

“Brilliant.” The Doctor nodded, “Right, Sarah, let’s get going.”

“Miss Smith, you can’t go.” Captain Magambo stopped them.

“Yes, I can. No one gave me a job so I’m going with him.” Sarah Jane replied, “I’ll be fine.”

“The teleport only has capacity for one. I’m sorry.”

“Surely, you have more teleports?”

“Only the one. We were given this teleport especially for the Doctor.”

“Well, why don’t we use the TARDIS? That’ll be easier.”

“We can’t risk the TARDIS.”

“You can risk the Doctor but you can risk the TARDIS?” Sarah Jane frowned. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She was seething, “Now, just a minute…”

“Sarah, don’t.” The Doctor said.

“No! UNIT’s happy to let you go into a Sontaran ship, knowing damn well that you will not go in armed but they can’t risk the TARDIS? It’s a joke.” Sarah Jane got angrier.

“Sarah Jane,” The Doctor brought her over to a quiet corner, “I need to go. I’m sorry but I do. If I could find a way to bring you up, I would but I can’t. You have to stay here.”

“And what will I do while you’re up there? Watch people be killed whilst waiting for you, not knowing whether you even made it to their ship or not?” Sarah Jane asked as she looked into his eyes. 

“You’ll find something.” The Doctor smiled at her.

He cupped her cheek, kissing her softly. Captain Magambo’s eyes widened as she watched the two kiss. The Doctor stepped back from Sarah Jane, a smile on his lips.

“I’ll be right back.” The Doctor said.

Sarah Jane couldn’t say anything to him, her throat too choked up. She watched as the Doctor pressed the button on his teleport. He disappeared with a flash and Sarah Jane closed her eyes, sighing softly.

Sarah Jane was aware of Captain Magambo going back into the operation room. She opened her eyes again, looking around to see if the coast was clear. This is when she knew she had to move. Sarah Jane left the carrier quickly and ran outside. She could see Jack and Mickey behind one of the UNIT Land Rovers. Sarah Jane ran up to them, Mickey noticing her immediately.

“What are you doing here?” Mickey asked, “You should be with the Doctor.”

“You’re telling me! Captain Magambo sent him onto the ship and guess what? The teleport has only got the capacity for one.” Sarah Jane replied.

“Which means?” Mickey asked.

“Which means I need you to get me onto that ship.” Sarah Jane said.

“What?!” Mickey screwed up his face, “You’re joking, aren’t you?”

“Mickey, I need to! If he can’t bring me up, I’ll find a way and you two are my only way.” Sarah Jane replied.

“I’ll take her.” Jack said as he pressed his back against the Land Rover, “You stay here.”

“Jack, you’ve seen how bad it is out there.” Mickey tried.

“I know how it is. We’ll take a motorbike.” Jack looked around. He then spotted one, “Let’s go!”

“You’ll be alright?” Mickey grabbed Sarah Jane’s arm.

“Don’t worry.” She smiled, “I have Jack with me.”

Mickey watched as the two ran towards the motorbike. Jack got on the front whilst Sarah Jane was on the back, her arms wrapped around his middle. When they started up the bike and began to drive through the large field, Captain Magambo ran out.

“What are they doing?!” Captain Magambo said with a lot of rage.

“She’s gone to get the Doctor, ma’am.” Mickey simply said before running to move further into the war zone, finding cover somewhere else near more soldiers.

Jack drove through the field, both of them ducking from the lasers firing at them. Sarah Jane clung tightly, trying to keep an eye out for anyone shooting their way. They managed to get to the Sontaran ship, getting off the bike as Sarah Jane ran first onto the ship. Jack was behind, shooting back as he was about to step onto the ship. The two got onto the ship quickly as they ran further in.

“Are you alright?” Jack asked as they took cover.

“Never felt better.” Sarah Jane laughed before she hugged him, “Come on, we need to move.”

They walked further into the large ship but they had no idea how long it was going to take to find the Doctor if they stayed together.

“We’re gonna have to split up, huh?” Jack asked.

“I think so.” Sarah Jane replied, “I’ll go this way.”

“You sure you’ll be alright?”

“Of course. I’ve faced a few Sontarans in my time. A whole fleet doesn’t scare me.”

\- - -

The Doctor walked slowly through the ship. He stayed in the shadows though he hadn’t come across many Sontarans, assuming all of them were outside. The Doctor reached the engine room which was similar to the one on the Titanic. He walked along the long platforms, looking down to the Sontaran engineering working with a large flame below. The Doctor noticed a control pad nearby. He figured this controlled the engines and if he turned it off, it would be easier to move through.

The Doctor walked up to the control pad. He took out his sonic as he started to shut down the pad.

Sarah Jane walked through the large doors, looking around as she found herself in the engine room. She then spotted the Doctor and grinned.

“Doctor!” She shouted as she started to run.

The Doctor turned as he saw Sarah Jane. She wore a leather blazer, white t-shirt, blue jeans and a pair of combat boots as she ran to him. As she ran, the Doctor grinned as he turned to face her. He tried to finish what he was doing to get to her. The Doctor kept looking between the panel and Sarah Jane but as he looked back to Sarah Jane, he noticed a Sontaran step out behind her. There was a part of the railings that looked over the engines that was open. The Sontaran forcefully pushed Sarah Jane as she grunted. She fell over the edge, her eyes widening as she was pushed.

“Sarah!” The Doctor shouted. He broke away from the panel and ran towards the Sontaran.

“Don’t bother, Time Lord.” The Sontaran pointed his gun at him, “She will die. You cannot save her.”

“Just watch me.” The Doctor said as he rushed to the edge, lying down on his front, “Sarah, look at me. Don’t look down.” Sarah Jane clung onto the bottom of the railings, “I’ve got you. Give me your hand, give me your hand.”

“Doctor, look out!” Sarah Jane exclaimed as she noticed the Sontaran behind the Doctor aiming his gun. 

The Doctor moved out of the way as the Sontaran stepped forward. He pushed the Sontaran off the edge as he fell into the flame below.

“Doctor, I can’t hold on.” Sarah Jane started to panic, “My hands are slipping.”

“It’s alright, just grab onto me.” The Doctor tried.

Sarah Jane went to reach up but she couldn’t reach him. Instead, her hands slipped and she fell. Sarah Jane screamed as she fell. The Doctor ran towards the ladders nearby and slid down them. He managed to get down to the bottom, grabbing Sarah Jane when she reached him.

“I’ve got you, I’ve got you.” The Doctor held onto her tightly as she panted. His arm around her, his hand on her waist underneath her jacket.

“I thought I was going to die.” Sarah Jane’s breathing calmed as she clung to him.

“I wouldn’t let that happen.” The Doctor smiled.

The two then went up the ladder, the Doctor helping Sarah Jane back onto the platform. When he brought her up, the two held each other tightly. They listened to each other’s breathing as they calmed. They really thought they were going to lose each other but they hadn’t and they were so happy to have each other. 

“How did you get here?” The Doctor asked, “Did Captain Magambo find another teleport for you?”

“No. I got Jack to bring me over.” Sarah Jane replied, “We split up so we could find you.”

“Through the soldiers?” The Doctor’s eyes widened, “Oh, Sarah, you’re getting quite reckless.”

“I learned from the best.” Sarah Jane raised a brow with a smile.

The Doctor laughed. The two then headed over to the control panels and the Doctor continued what he was doing.

\- - -

Jack walked slowly as he approached a door, a key pad with a Sontaran shaped hand. He pressed his hand against it as he went through. Jack was instantly met with the back of the Sontaran and hit him in the back of the neck with the bottom of his gun. Jack continued as he reached a large control room. It was totally empty but it was clear what they were planning. 

This was the room which controlled the missiles. As he had been walking through the ship, Jack was aware of the engines shutting down but it clearly didn’t stop this control room. Jack ran up to the controls as he looked for some sort of way to stop the missiles but he couldn’t. There was nothing at all. Jack thought about going to find the Doctor and Sarah Jane but the ship was huge and he could see that he only had ten minutes on the countdown.

There was only one person he could call.

\- - -

Luke paced the attic as Clyde sat at Sarah Jane’s desk. Rani sat on the steps, watching the coverage of what was happening with the Sontarans on Mr. Smith (Thanks to the Brigadier). 

“She’ll be fine, Luke.” Clyde reassured, “Sarah Jane’s smart. She won’t let anything bad happen.”

“I know, it’s just that she was so worried. I can’t help but worry more about it all.” Luke replied.

Suddenly, Luke’s phone started to ring. Clyde and Rani watched as Luke scrambled to answer his phone.

“Where’s mum?” Luke said.

“She’s fine, she’s gone to look for the Doctor. Listen, Luke, I need your help and I’ve only got ten minutes to sort this.” Jack said.

“Who is it?” Rani asked.

“Captain Jack.” Luke replied before putting the phone on speaker, “What is it?”

“The Sontarans have missiles heading towards Earth and I’m in the control room for it all. I’m gonna need you to help me.” Jack explained as he walked around the room.

“Well, wouldn’t it be easier if you were there?” Clyde asked, “You’d be able to see it all.”

“Are you joking? If the Sontarans don’t kill us, mum will definitely kill me!” Luke said.

“That’s not a bad idea, Clyde. This room is huge!” Jack replied, “Has Mr. Smith got some sort of teleport he can get you here with?”

“No.” Luke replied.

“Right.” Jack nodded, “Give me a second.”

The three frowned at each other but suddenly, Jack appeared in the attic.

“How did you get in here?” Clyde walked down the steps as he frowned.

“Vortex Manipulator.” Jack showed the brown watch-like device on his wrist, “The Doctor will be very annoyed when he knows I’ve been using this. Especially to get you, now let’s go. Just put your hand on it.”

“We’re coming too!” Rani walked down the steps.

“Oh, I don’t think so.” Jack said, “You’re staying here.”

“No way! You take Luke, you take me and Rani too.” Clyde said.

“Yeah, exactly.” Rani nodded.

“Oh, you kids are going to get me into so much trouble. Right, hands on the manipulator.” Jack held out his wrist, “Get ready.”

Jack pressed the button and they teleported to the Sontaran ship. Clyde immediately felt space sick and had a moment to himself. Jack and Luke ran up to the controls, looking at the monitors.

“You think you can stop it?” Jack asked.

“I can try.” Luke replied as he sat down at the controls and started pressing buttons. 

“I hope you know what you’re doing, Lukey boy!” Clyde tapped his shoulder.

“I’ve got this.” Luke said.

Jack, Rani, and Clyde watched Luke as he went through the controls. Finally, he looked up to the screen and only one of the missiles was shut down.

“There’s four more.” Luke said, “I’m never gonna shut these down in time.”

“Well, why don’t we try?” Rani asked.

“Jack!” They all heard suddenly. They turned to see Sarah Jane and the Doctor walk in, hand in hand. She dropped his hand as she stomped over to Jack, clearly very angry, “What the bloody hell are they doing here?”

“Sarah Jane, I got here and we only had ten minutes. I had to do something!” Jack tried to explain.

“And you bring my son and his friends to a Sontaran battle ship?!” Sarah Jane asked.

The monitors flashed now. The timer was getting closer to impact and suddenly, there were intruders coming in.

“Luke was the only one who could stop this whilst you and the Doctor weren’t here.” Jack replied.

“They’re fifteen!” Sarah Jane shrieked.

“Sarah!” The Doctor shouted at the same time Luke shouted.

“Mum!”

“What?” Sarah Jane looked to them, the Doctor now joining Luke in the other seat.

“Sit down. You can help us with this missile.” The Doctor said.

“We’ll talk about this later.” Sarah Jane pointed to Jack before sitting next to Luke.

“We need one more.” Luke said as he looked to the Doctor.

“I’ll do it after we’ve done this one.” The Doctor said.

Almost on command, Mickey and Martha with a couple other UNIT soldiers came into the control room. The Doctor beamed when he saw the couple.

“Martha! Mickey!” The Doctor grinned. He then pointed to the chair next to him, “Martha, help us.”

“What do I need to do?” Martha asked as she sat down.

“Just follow my lead. Sarah, follow Luke. Rani and Clyde, stay over here. Jack and Mickey, make sure you’re prepared for any more intruders.” The Doctor instructed.

Rani and Clyde stayed close to Sarah Jane and Luke, making sure they had some sort of cover if they were shot at. Jack, Mickey and the other couple of soldiers took their positions to prepare for any Sontarans to burst in. The Doctor, Sarah Jane, Luke and Martha all worked the controls, shutting down the missiles. When they shut down the missiles, the countdown stopped.

“Lukey boy, you genius!” The Doctor hugged Luke. Sarah Jane laughed as she watched the two hug.

“Very clever indeed.” A voice said from the shadows. They all turned, watching as the Sontaran from the message sent to UNIT stepped out. It was General Unid, “But it isn’t over yet.”

“Get out, now.” The Doctor said to Sarah Jane, “Get everyone out.”

“You’re not doing this to me now.” Sarah Jane shook her head.

“Sarah.” The Doctor frowned. This time, Sarah Jane knew she had to obey.

Sarah Jane simply nodded. She got the kids as she walked out of the ship, Martha, Mickey, Jack and the other UNIT soldiers following behind. Now, it was just the Doctor and General Unid.

“Why are you doing this?” The Doctor asked.

“For Sontar. For the brothers we lost to your hands.” General Unid replied.

“It wasn’t me that killed them.” The Doctor shook his head, “If it was, I would be dead too. Besides, they wanted to kill the human race. I wasn’t going to let that happen.”

“You have committed crimes against Sontar. You must pay!” General Unid exclaimed.

“Oh, I’m the last thing you need to worry about. How’s the war going then? The last I heard, it wasn’t going very well.” The Doctor put his hands in his pockets, rocking on his feet, “Is that why you’re doing this? The war is getting worse so you decide to avenge their plan and kill?”

“I’ve had enough of your words, Doctor.” General Unid lifted his blaster, “Be prepared to die, Time Lord.”

“And then what? You take over Earth? Nah, I don’t think so!” The Doctor rushed over to the controls. He pointed to the red button, “Big red button, I assume this is self-destruct then?”

“I’m warning you, Time Lord!” General Unid exclaimed.

Before either of them could do anything, General Unid suddenly fell to the ground. Standing behind him was Sarah Jane. She held a hammer (the one from the TARDIS) in one hand, the Doctor’s teleport in the other. 

“Don’t you dare press that button.” Sarah Jane walked towards the Doctor.

“How the hell did you get that?” The Doctor pointed to the teleport.

“I might have went into your pockets earlier.” Sarah Jane shrugged, “That doesn’t matter. What matters is why the hell were you going to destroy this ship and kill yourself while you were at it?”

“Because it’s the only way.” The Doctor looked down to his feet, “They’ll never surrender.”

“No, it isn’t.” Sarah Jane cupped his face, making him look at her, “There’s another way.”

“What?” The Doctor asked.

“Leave.” Sarah Jane replied.

“Leave?” The Doctor frowned, “What do you mean?”

“General Unid turned the engines back on. As soon as we left, it started to take off.” Sarah Jane explained.

“We’re in space?” The Doctor asked.

“Just about.” Sarah Jane replied. She held out the teleport, “Captain Magambo underestimated me. I managed to change the capacity to two. We better move.”

The Doctor grinned. He grabbed the teleport as they teleported back home. They were now in the TARDIS. When they realised they were back, the two hugged one another tightly.

“Oh, Sarah, you are brilliant!” The Doctor held her tightly.

The two broke off the hug as they looked into one another’s eyes as they smiled. Before they could do anything, they suddenly heard a loud explosion. They ran out of the TARDIS as they saw the remains of the Sontaran ship in the sky. The Doctor turned, noticing Captain Magambo standing by. He stomped over to her, Sarah Jane following after him.

“Did you do this?” The Doctor asked as he pointed to the ruins and debris of the Sontaran ship falling down.

“We had to, Doctor.” Captain Magambo replied, “They posed a threat to humankind.”

“You didn’t have to kill them! You killed enough as it is today. You didn’t need to kill more.” The Doctor shouted.

“We did what we had to for our country and for our planet.” Captain Magambo replied.

“So were they.” Sarah Jane stepped forward, “That makes us no better than them, no matter how brutal they are. There should have been a better way.”

“Miss Smith. Doctor. You both do not work for UNIT anymore therefore, neither of you have any right to tell me what to do.” Captain Magambo replied.

“Maybe think about that the next time you ask us to help then.” Sarah Jane stepped forward, squinting her eyes as she pointed before calling for the kids, “Luke, Clyde, Rani, come on.”

Sarah Jane walked up to the TARDIS, letting the kids go in first before she followed. She walked in, closing the door behind her. The Doctor said nothing as he walked back to the TARDIS, Jack, Martha and Mickey following behind him.

\- - -

The Doctor and Sarah Jane stayed for another week on Bannerman Road after the battle with the Sontarans. Jack went back home to Cardiff and Martha and Mickey decided to become freelancers. It was now early December and it was freezing. 

Sarah Jane pulled into the drive, her small Nissan Figaro packed with herself, the Doctor, Luke, Clyde and Rani. They all got out, the kids talking about the film they had just been to see. It was nice to be home and just spend time with her family. It was also nice for the Doctor to actually get to know the kids and for the kids to get to know him. Any free day they had, they would all pile into Sarah Jane’s car and spend time together.

Sarah Jane watched as the three teens headed inside into the warmth, listening to their conversation. She chuckled as she leaned against the car, shaking her head. The Doctor walked around the car as he stood in front of her. The Doctor looked at his feet before back up to Sarah Jane. Sarah Jane wore a white button-up shirt, black skinny jeans, black knee-high boots and a long black coat. She looked more like ‘Earth Sarah Jane’ if there ever was one instead of the Sarah Jane he had travelled with the last two weeks or so. Finally, Sarah Jane looked up to him with a small smile. The Doctor smiled at her, holding out his hand.

“Come on.” The Doctor gestured.

Sarah Jane looked down to his hand and slipped hers into his. They walked into the garden where the TARDIS was. As they approached the police box, it suddenly became very daunting to Sarah Jane. She had spoken about everything to the kids and she knew it was time. Sarah Jane stopped in her steps, making the Doctor turn. He could see a pained look in her face as she looked at him.

“What’s wrong?” The Doctor asked.

“I can’t.” Sarah Jane shook her head. She let go off his hand slowly, the Doctor missing the warmth of her hand already, “I… I need to stay home. I can’t leave Luke on his own anymore. My place is here.”

“Are you sure?” The Doctor asked. His hearts felt like they were being torn in two.

“I’m sorry.” Sarah Jane felt a lump in her throat grow but she pushed it down.

“No, I understand. I don’t blame you.” The Doctor nodded. He cleared his throat as he looked around himself before he started to chuckle, “It’s been fun, hasn’t it? It’s been the best. Just like old times.”

Sarah Jane nodded as she giggled, her eyes starting to fill up. The Doctor shuffled in his shoes as he looked down to the ground before back up to Sarah Jane. 

“You have made me so much better. Travelling with you, it’s been perfect. You helped me so much.” The Doctor explained, “I couldn’t be more grateful.”

“You did that yourself, Doctor.” Sarah Jane replied.

“Never.” The Doctor shook his head, “You know, Donna said to me that I need someone. Someone to stop me. That’s you. You’re that someone.”

“I just wanted you to be safe. And not be on your own.” Sarah Jane said.

“And you’re so brilliant for that.” The Doctor grinned, “My Sarah Jane.”

Sarah Jane giggled again, tears now slowly falling down her face. She wiped them away before looking back at him. She watched as the Doctor’s smile dropped and with that, so did her heart.

“I think this will be the last time you see me.” The Doctor said in a stoic tone.

“What do you mean?” Sarah Jane frowned.

“My song is ending. I’m going to die.”

Sarah Jane’s heart was beating fast in her chest. Those words were never the words she wanted to hear from the Doctor. He was supposed to live on, he had to.

“‘He will knock four times’ the prophecy said.” The Doctor laughed as he bit his lip, biting down his emotions, “I have no idea what that means. All I know is that when I hear that, I’m going to die.”

“What are you going to do?” Sarah Jane asked.

“Try and delay it.” The Doctor replied, “That’s what I’ve been doing. That’s what I’ll do, just until I know it’s best to go back and figure out what it means. I don’t think it’ll be long now.”

Sarah Jane stepped forward slowly. She looked up to him, studying his face. Though he looked young, she could see he had aged or at least, this had aged him. The knowing of his death aged him.

“Promise me one thing.” Sarah Jane said. She smoothed down the lapels of his trench coat, brushing some dirt off his shoulder. She looked back up to him, green meeting brown, “Come back. When it’s time, even just for a moment. Just so I know.”

The Doctor nodded. Sarah Jane smiled up to him. He took her into his arms, her head resting on his chest. She listened to his hearts beating, wondering if this would be the last time she would hear that. The Doctor closed his eyes, taking in the scent of her hair and knew he would never forget it. They finally broke off the hug as they held hands.

“Goodbye, Sarah Jane.” The Doctor said softly.

“It’s not goodbye.” Sarah Jane shook her head. She then sighed, “Goodbye, Doctor.”

The two slowly and reluctantly let go of each other’s hands. Sarah Jane stepped back as the Doctor went into the TARDIS. He turned as he stood at the door and smiled.

“I love you, Sarah Jane.” The Doctor said almost determinedly.

Sarah Jane had no clue how long she had waited to hear those words from him. Finally, he had said them. Sarah Jane felt like she was floating, her stomach filling with butterflies. She smiled, a faint giggle in the smile.

“I love you too, Doctor.”

The Doctor grinned. Like Sarah Jane, those words meant so much to him. He may have heard it from others but from her, the universe stopped and it was just them. He knew it was time to go.

Sarah Jane watched as he nodded before closing the doors behind him. She expected the TARDIS to disappear immediately but it didn’t. She blinked through her tears, knowing there was one last thing she had to do.

The Doctor’s head snapped up from the console when he heard the doors squeak open. Sarah Jane had stepped inside and she approached the console quickly. She said nothing as she walked up to him, cupped his face and kissed him.

The Doctor brought his hands to Sarah Jane’s waist, bringing her closer to him. Sarah Jane moved her hands from his face to wrap her arms around his neck. They kissed passionately, clinging onto each other almost for dear life. They kissed for a few more seconds before pressing their foreheads against one another, getting their breath back.

“I better go.” Sarah Jane said softly.

The Doctor said nothing as he nodded. The two lifted their heads to look at one another properly. They smiled at one another before kissing once more. This kiss was more controlled but equally as heartfelt as the one before. Finally, they broke it off. Sarah Jane stepped out of their embrace, still holding onto his hands until she couldn’t reach anymore. The Doctor watched as she walked to the doors. She opened the door, looking back to him. Sarah Jane gave him one last smile before stepping outside and closing the door behind herself.

Sarah Jane stepped out into the cold, her emotions hitting her like a brick wall. Tears streamed down her face as she walked. She finally turned around as the TARDIS started to disappear, the wheezing sound filling the air. She was alone again.

The garden gate squeaked open and Sarah Jane quickly wiped her tears away. She turned to see Luke as he stood at the gate.

“Where’s the Doctor?” Luke asked.

“He’s gone.” Sarah Jane replied as she looked up to the sky, “He had to go.” Sarah Jane looked back to her son and smiled. She walked over to him, wrapping her arm around him, “Let’s get inside. It’s freezing.”


	10. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sarah Jane is adjusting to life back home after the craziest Christmas yet.

“When are you next free?” Martha asked down the phone, “I loved to see you before we go away for New Years but I can see that getting ruined but some aliens.”

“I should be free tomorrow.” Sarah Jane chuckled as she checked her calendar, “Where are you and Mickey off to again?”

“New York. Just a getaway for the end of the year.” Martha replied.

“Why not!” Sarah Jane chuckled.

“Oh, I better go. I’ll see you tomorrow, yeah? What time shall we meet? Twelvish?”

“Yeah, that’s good. See you there. And tell Mickey I’m asking for him.”

“I will! See you tomorrow.”

Sarah Jane hung up the phone with a chuckle as she put the landline back on the cradle. She was about to go back up to the attic when she remembered the pile of mail waiting for her in the kitchen. Sarah Jane headed through and picked them up from the round table.

Sarah Jane flicked through the mail, mostly all bills but then she reached a red envelope. Her name and address had been hand written and it felt like a card inside. She wondered if it was from the Doctor but she doubted it. Sarah Jane opened the envelope and funnily enough, it was a Christmas card.

“Bit late.” Sarah Jane said to herself, “Not that we had much of a Christmas this year anyway.”

Sarah Jane properly read the front of the card as she noticed the words ‘To my darling wife’. Sarah Jane frowned as she opened the card. Inside the card was a letter for her, falling out of the card. She read the card, noticing who it was from.

“Jack.” She said to herself before she began to chuckle.

Sarah Jane opened up the letter as she started to read it. It was just about how life was going for him and how he had left Earth not long after the battle. Sarah Jane knew about Ianto and the Torchwood disbanding and her heart broke for Jack. He also told her about how he had checked up on Donna just before leaving, telling Sarah Jane of how she was engaged now. Sarah Jane smiled, knowing Donna was happy. As the letter drew to a close, Jack asked if she had seen the Doctor recently. It had been around three weeks since she saw the Doctor last. She had no clue where he was or if he was okay. Sarah Jane thought about him a lot, especially after the events at Christmas. She knew he had to have been the one who stopped it.

Sarah Jane finished reading the letter as she snapped out of her daydream about the Doctor. Sarah Jane had planned to actually get some writing done, especially with Luke being out. She remembered how she left her notebook in the car and went to go get it. Sarah Jane headed outside, unlocking the car. She was about to get into the car and look for her notebook when she heard Luke calling for her.

“Mum!” Luke called. Sarah Jane got out of the car quickly and walked out of the driveway onto the street. Luke was running across the road, his phone in his hand, “Mum!”

“What? What is it?” Sarah Jane chuckled, wondering if he was going to tell her about some crazy thing Clyde had just told him.

“It’s him.” Luke didn’t even look at her. He looked down Old Forest Road instead, “It’s the Doctor.”

Sarah Jane’s smile instantly dropped as she looked down the street. The Doctor’s back was to them as he walked to the TARDIS. He unlocked the door as he looked at her. Sarah Jane could hear the hum of the TARDIS engines from where she stood and it felt like home.

Sarah Jane knew this was it. She knew it was time. He had heard those four knocks. Her heart beat fast in her chest as her breathing trembled. She could feel the tears building in her eyes.

The Doctor said nothing as he waved expressionlessly but she could tell there was more in that wave. The fact he came back at all was enough for her. He couldn’t waste all his time on her but the fact he was here to give her that one last wave meant that he loved her and it meant he had listened to her when she told him to come back.

The Doctor stepped into the TARDIS, the door squeaking behind him. As she breathed shakily, Sarah Jane smiled. Her eyes bubbled over more and more. There was a relief in knowing he had come back. She knew he was going to be okay in the end, no matter who came next.


End file.
